Brief History of Xu-style Garden: Private Gardens in Xuzhou during the Republic of China

Through literature review and fi eld investigation,famous private gardens in Xuzhou city and countryside during the Republic of China period were investigated.According to the main uses,the private gardens in this period were divided into 4 types:house garden,library garden,restaurant garden and for-profi t(fl owers,trees and vegetables)garden.In addition,this paper sorted out the owner of each private garden,the construction process,the scale of the garden and the general situation of the garden,and analyzed the idea,site selection,layout,the characteristics of the key private garden elements and style of these gardens.

Chronology and Sources of Mesozoic Intrusive Complexes in the Xuzhou-Huainan Region, Central China: Constraints from SHRIMP Zircon U-Pb Dating

SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating in the Liguo and Jiagou intrusives indicates that they were formed at -130 Ma in the Early Cretaceous. Most inherited zircons in the Liguo intrusive were formed at 2509±43 Ma. Most inherited and detrital zircons in the Jiagou intrusive were formed at -2500 Ma, -2000 Ma and -1800 Ma. The SHRIMP zircon U-Pb dating in two gneiss xenoliths from the Jiagou intrusive yields the ages of 2461±22 Ma and 2508±15 Ma, respectively. The dating results from inherited and detrital zircons in the intrusives and the gneiss xenoliths imply that the magmas could be derived from the partial melting of the basement of the North China Block (NCB). The magmatism is strong and extensive in the periods from 115 to 132 Ma, which is of typical bimodal characteristics. It is suggested that the lithospheric thinning in the eastern North China Block reached its peak in 115-132 Ma.

Assessment of selenium pollution in agricultural soils in the Xuzhou District,Northwest Jiangsu, China

Xuzhou City is an important base for coal production and coal-fired power. To evaluate selenium contamination in this area, we sampled agricultural soil, soil profile, irrigation water, bedrock, coal, fly ash, paddy rice, and vegetables from the north of Xuzhou City, and determined their selenium contents. The background level of selenium in the soil profile was 0.08 mg/kg. The selenium concentrations in agricultural soils and irrigation water were in the range of 0.21-4.08 mg/kg and 0.002-0.29 mg/L, respectively. Soils with high selenium content were located closely to coalmines and power plants. The average selenium concentrations in coal and coal fly ash were 5.46 and 2.81 mg/kg, respectively. In contrast, the concentrations of selenium in bedrock and in the soil profile were very low. These results imply that the high selenium level in agricultural soils is mainly caused by anthropogenic activities, rather than by parent material. The arithmetic mean of selenium concentration in paddy rice was 0.116 mg/kg, and in cabbage was 0.05 mg/kg. The selenium concentration in rice was positively correlated with total selenium concentration in soil, suggesting that selenium in soil is readily transferred into the crops. Furthermore, the estimated dietary intake （88.8 μg） of selenium from paddy rice and cabbage exceeds the recommended dietary allowance （55 μg）. Therefore, there is a potential health risk from consumption of local staple food in the study area.

Molecular Characterization and Drug-resistance of Mycobacterium tuberculosis Strains in Xuzhou, China

To understand the genetic diversity and drug resistance status of Mycobocterium tuberculosis （M. tuberculosis） circulating in Xuzhou of China, the spacer-oligonucleotide typing （Spoligotyping） and multi-loci VNTRs （variable number tandem repeats） analysis （MLVA） were utilized for the genotyping of the isolates. Drug susceptibility test （DST） was performed by the proportion method on the Lowenstein-Jensen （L-J） medium using isoniazid, rifampicin, ethambutol, and streptomycin. By Spoligotyping, 287 M. tuberculosis isolates were differentiated into 14 clusters. Then with 15-1oci MLVA, these strains could be divided into 32 clusters, 228 genotypes. Of 15 VNTRs, 6 loci had the highly discriminatory powers, 6 loci presented moderate discrimination and 3 loci demonstrated less polymorphism. The DST results showed that 46 strains were resistant to at least one first-line anti-tuberculosis agent. There was a difference in the isoniazid resistance between Beijing and non-Beijing genotype strains. We concluded that the combination of Spoligotyping and 15 VNTR loci as the genotyping in our study was applicable for this region, the drug resistant isolates were identified, and the Beijing family was the most prevalent genotype in the rural counties of Xuzhou.

Heavy Metals in Urban Soils of Xuzhou, China: Spatial Distribution and Correlation to Specific Magnetic Susceptibility

The investigation of the anthropogenic contamination by heavy metals of soils is very important for environmental planning and monitoring in urban areas. In the present study, surface soils (0-20 cm) samples from 167 sampling sites in Xuzhou (China) were collected in 2010 and analyzed for heavy metals including Zn, Pb, Fe, Mn, Cu, Cd, Sr, Ba Cr, Ni and Mo via inductively coupled plasma/mass spectrometry (ICP-MS). Compared with their levels in natural soils of China, these metals investigated exhibited a slight build-up in Xuzhou topsoils. The multivariate statistical analyses including factor analysis (FA) and cluster analysis (CA) were performed. The obtained results enabled the identification of two main groups of metals, discriminating Ni, Mo and Cr from Zn, Pb, Fe, Mn, Cu, Cd, Sr and Ba. Signifcant associations between Pb, Zn, Fe and specific magnetic susceptibility (c) indicated that specific susceptibility can serve as proxies for these metals levels in Xuzhou urban soils.

Environmental Effects of Groundwater Development in Xuzhou City, China

Xuzhou City is located in the most northwestern portion of Jiangsu Province, P. R. China. Karst groundwater in the Ordovician and Cambrian Limestone aquifers is the main source of water supply. There are 527 wells in urban areas to exploit the karst groundwater, yielding up to 35 000 m3 per day. After 1978, urbanization and industrialization of Xuzhou City have continued at a greatly accelerated pace; the population increased from 670 700 (1978) to 1 645 500 (2002), its GDP from 0.71 × 109＄ to 42.7×109＄ and the urban area from 184 km2 to 1,038 km2 (built-up city area from 41.3 km2 to 81.9 km2). The volume of karst groundwater withdrawal increased yearly before the opera- tion of a supply plant of surface water in 1992, from 3.85×107 m3 (1978) to 1.34×108 m3 (1991) and now maintained at 0.1×109 m3 (2002). Intensive overexploitation of karst groundwater has caused a continuous descending of the piezo- metric level and the area of the depression cone increases year after year. These changes have increased the vulnerabil- ity of the karst groundwater system and have induced environmental problems such as depletion of water resources, water quality deterioration, groundwater contamination and karst collapse. The largest buried depth of karst groundwa- ter is up to 100 m in the dry season in some areas, while 66 exhausted wells have been abandoned. A change in the thickness of the unsaturated zone due to the drawdown of the piezometric level has caused a change of the chemical en- vironment which has an impact on the physical state and major chemical compositions in groundwater. The contents of Ca2+, Mg2+, NO3-, SO42– and Cl– in karst groundwater has increased significantly, total hardness (CaCO3 content) rises annually in most pumping wells and exceeds the Standard of Drinking Water of P.R. China. Point source pollution and belt-like pollution along the rivers has caused water quality deterioration. The sudden loss of buoyant support due to rapid drawdown of the piezometric level has induced 7 karst collapses to form 17 pits and has caused an estimated US$10 million economic loss. These problems have influenced the quality of development in the city.

The impact of Internet access on household dietary quality:Evidence from rural China

Over the past few decades,the Internet has rapidly diffused across China.The spread of the Internet has had a profound economic and social impact on Chinese rural areas.Existing research shows that Internet access significantly impacts agricultural production and improves smallholder farmers’income.Beyond these,the Internet can affect other dimensions of social welfare.However,research about the impact of Internet access on dietary quality in rural China remains scarce.This study utilizes multi-period panel data from Fixed Observation Point in rural China from 2009 to 2015 to estimate the impact of Internet access on dietary quality and food consumption of rural households and conducts a causal analysis.Regression models with time and household fixed effects allow robust estimation while reducing potential issues of unobserved heterogeneity.The estimates show that Internet access has significantly increased rural household dietary quality(measured by the Chinese Diet Balance Index).Further research finds that Internet access has increased the consumption of animal products,such as aquatic and dairy products.We also examine the underlying mechanisms.Internet access improves dietary quality and food consumption mainly through increasing household income and food expenditure.These results encourage the promotion of Internet access as a valuable tool for nutritional improvements,especially in rural areas.

Differences in spring precipitation over southern China associated with multiyear La Ni?a events

Composite analyses were performed in this study to reveal the difference in spring precipitation over southern China during multiyear La Ni?a events during 1901 to 2015. It was found that there is significantly below-normal precipitation during the first boreal spring, but above-normal precipitation during the second year. The difference in spring precipitation over southern China is correlative to the variation in western North Pacific anomalous cyclone(WNPC), which can in turn be attributed to the different sea surface temperature anomaly(SSTA) over the Tropical Pacific. The remote forcing of negative SSTA in the equatorial central and eastern Pacific and the local air-sea interaction in the western North Pacific are the usual causes of WNPC formation and maintenance.SSTA in the first spring is stronger than those in the second spring. As a result, the intensity of WNPC in the first year is stronger, which is more likely to reduce the moisture in southern China by changing the moisture transport, leading to prolonged precipitation deficits over southern China. However, the tropical SSTA signals in the second year are too weak to induce the formation and maintenance of WNPC and the below-normal precipitation over southern China. Thus, the variation in tropical SSTA signals between two consecutive springs during multiyear La Ni?a events leads to obvious differences in the spatial pattern of precipitation anomaly in southern China by causing the different WNPC response.

The Origin of Mesozoic A-type Granitoids,Fujian Province,Southeast China:Insights from Geochronology,Mineralogy and Geochemistry

The magma sources,origins and precise forming ages of the miarolite from Qishan and Kuiqi intrusions are still uncertain.New results reveal that,miarolites from the Qishan and Kuiqi intrusions yield crystallization ages of~101 and~98 Ma,and they have a high formation temperature(~910℃)and low oxygen fugacity value,indicating crystallization condition at low pressure in the upper crust with temperature of 678℃.The Qishan and Kuiqi miarolites are characterized by enrichment in SiO_(2) and high-K alkali,depletion in Ca and Mg,and belong to the high-K weak peraluminous rock series.The samples are enriched in HFSEs(i.e.,Ta,Zr and Hf)and LILEs(i.e.,Ba,P and Sr),depleted in Ba and Sr with the negative anomaly of Eu.In the primitive mantle normalized trace element spider diagram,the samples show a right-inclined‘seagull-type’pattern,combined the ratios of(La/Yb)_(N),10000×Al/Ga,Rb/Nb and Nb/Ta etc.,they were proved to be alkaline A-type granite.Combined the characterize of the trace elements,they were derived from clay-rich source accompanied pelite melting,and subjected to K-feldspar crystallization fractional.The values of ε_(Hf)(t)and tDM2 are distributed in the range of-2.8 to 3.3 with~1.2 Ga,and-6.0 to 4.0 with~1.2 Ga,revealing that they were generated from the Mesoproterozoic Cathaysia basement rocks.The comprehensive research reveals the Kuiqi and Qishan intrusions derived from crust-mantle mixing and partial melting of the crust,respectively,resulting from lithospheric extension generated by the Paleo-Pacific Plate subducted into the European-Asian Plate.

Trace elements in magmatic and hydrothermal quartz:Implications on the genesis of the Xingluokeng Tungsten Deposit,South China

The Xingluokeng deposit is the largest gran-ite-related tungsten deposit within the Wuyi metallogenic belt in South China.The Xingluokeng intrusion primarily consists of porphyritic biotite granite,biotite granite,andfine-grained granite.The deposit is represented by veinlet-disseminated mineralization with K-feldspathization and biotitization,alongside quartz-vein mineralization with gre-isenization and sericitization.This study investigates in-situ analyses of quartz compositions from both the intrusion and hydrothermal veinlets and veins.Trace element correlations indicate that trivalent Al^(3+)and Fe^(3+)replace Si^(4+)within the quartz lattice,with monovalent cations(such as Li^(+),Na^(+),and K^(+))primarily serving as charge compensators.Low Ge/Al ratios(<0.013)of quartz from granites suggest a mag-matic origin.The low Al/Ti and Ge/Ti ratios,accompanied by high Ti contents in quartz,suggest that the porphyritic biotite granite and biotite granite are characterized by rela-tively low levels of differentiation and high crystallization temperatures.In contrast,thefine-grained granite exhibits a higher degree of fractionation,lower crystallization tem-peratures,and a closer association with tungsten miner-alization.Ti contents in quartz from quartz veins indicate Qz-Ⅰformed at temperatures above 400°C,while Qz-Ⅱto Qz-Ⅴformed at temperatures below 350°C.Variations in different generations of quartz,as indicated by Al content and(Al+Fe)/(Li+Na+K)ratio,suggest that Qz-Ⅰprecipi-tated from a less acidicfluid with a stable pH,whereas Qz-Ⅱto Qz-Ⅴoriginated from a more acidicfluid with notable pH variations.Consequently,alkaline alteration and acidic alteration supplied the essential Ca and Fe for the precipita-tion of scheelite and wolframite,respectively,highlighting a critical mechanism in tungsten mineralization at the Xin-gluokeng deposit.

Synergistic Interdecadal Evolution of Precipitation over Eastern China and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation during 1951-2015

By using the multi-taper method(MTM)of singular value decomposition(SVD),this study investigates the interdecadal evolution(10-to 30-year cycle)of precipitation over eastern China from 1951 to 2015 and its relationship with the North Pacific sea surface temperature(SST).Two significant interdecadal signals,one with an 11-year cycle and the other with a 23-year cycle,are identified in both the precipitation and SST fields.Results show that the North Pacific SST forcing modulates the precipitation distribution over China through the effects of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation(PDO)-related anomalous Aleutian low on the western Pacific subtropical high(WPSH)and Mongolia high(MH).During the development stage of the PDO cold phase associated with the 11-year cycle,a weakened WPSH and MH increased the precipitation over the Yangtze River Basin,whereas an intensified WPSH and MH caused the enhanced rain band to move northward to North China during the decay stage.During the development stage of the PDO cold phase associated with the 23-year cycle,a weakened WPSH and MH increased the precipitation over North China,whereas an intensified WPSH and the weakened MH increased the precipitation over South China during the decay stage.The 11-year and 23-year variabilities contribute differently to the precipitation variations in the different regions of China,as seen in the 1998flooding case.The 11-year cycle mainly accounts for precipitation increases over the Yangtze River Basin,while the 23-year cycle is responsible for the precipitation increase over Northeast China.These results have important implications for understanding how the PDO modulates the precipitation distribution over China,helping to improve interdecadal climate prediction.

Spatial patterns of zooplankton abundance,biovolume,and size structure in response to environmental variables:a case study in the Yellow Sea and East China Sea

The Yellow Sea(YS)and East China Sea(ECS)are highly dynamic marginal seas of the northwestern Pacific Ocean.To gain an in-depth understanding of zooplankton community structure,zooplankton abundance,biovolume,and size structure in summer 2017 in the YS and ECS were assessed using ZooScan imaging analysis.Zooplankton abundance and biovolume ranged 2.94–1187.14 inds./m^(3)and 3.13–3438.51 mm^(3)/m^(3),respectively.Based on the biovolume data of the categorized size classes of 26 identified taxonomic groups,the zooplankton community was classified into five groups,and each group was coupled with distinctive oceanographic features.Under the influence of the Yellow Sea Cold Water Mass,the Yellow Sea offshore group featured the lowest bottom temperature(10.84±3.42℃)and the most abundant Calanoids(mainly in the 2–3 mm size class).In the Yellow Sea inshore group,Hydrozoans showed the largest biovolume and dominated in the 3–4-mm and>5-mm size classes.The East China Sea offshore group,which was affected by the Kuroshio Branch Current,featured high temperature and salinity,and the lowest bottom dissolved oxygen(2.58±0.5 mg/L).The lowest values of zooplankton abundance and biovolume in the East China Sea offshore group might be attributed to the bottom dissolved oxygen contents.The East China Sea inshore group,which was mainly influenced by the Zhejiang-Fujian Coastal Current and Changjiang Diluted Water,was characterized by high chlorophyll a and the largest biovolume of carnivorous Siphonophores(280.82±303.37 mm^(3)/m^(3)).The Changjiang River estuary offshore group showed the most abundant Cyclopoids,which might be associated with the less turbid water mass in this region.Seawater temperature was considered the most important factor in shaping the size compositions of Calanoids in different groups.

Climate and topography regulate the spatial pattern of soil salinization and its effects on shrub community structure in Northwest China

Soil salinization may affect biodiversity and species composition,leading to changes in the plant community structure.However,few studies have explored the spatial pattern of soil salinization and its effects on shrub community structure at the ecosystem scale.Therefore,we conducted a transect sampling of desert shrublands in Northwest China during the growing season(June–September)in 2021.Soil salinization(both the degree and type),shrub community structure(e.g.,shrub density and height),and biodiversity parameters(e.g.,Simpson diversity,Margalf abundance,Shannon-Wiener diversity,and Pielou evenness indices)were used to assess the effects of soil salinization on shrub community structure.The results showed that the primary degree of soil salinization in the study area was light salinization,with the area proportion of 69.8%.Whereas the main type of soil salinization was characterized as sulfate saline soil,also accounting for 69.8%of the total area.Notably,there was a significant reduction in the degree of soil salinization and a shift in the type of soil salinization from chloride saline soil to sulfate saline soil,with an increase in longitude.Regional mean annual precipitation(MAP),mean annual evapotranspiration(MAE),elevation,and slope significantly contributed to soil salinization and its geochemical differentiation.As soil salinization intensified,shrub community structure displayed increased diversity and evenness,as indicated by the increases in the Simpson diversity,Shannon-Wiener diversity,and Pielou evenness indices.Moreover,the succulent stems and leaves of Chenopodiaceae and Tamaricaceae exhibited clear advantages under these conditions.Furthermore,regional climate and topography,such as MAP,MAE,and elevation,had greater effects on the distribution of shrub plants than soil salinization.These results provide a reference for the origin and pattern of soil salinization in drylands and their effects on the community structure of halophyte shrub species.

Paleogene transgression process and environmental evolution in the deepwater area of the Baiyun Depression in the northern South China Sea

Multiple borehole samples are collected from the Baiyun Depression in deep-water area of the northern South China Sea(SCS)in an effort to reconstruct transgression processes during the Paleogene based on palynalgal analysis.This study indicates that the Baiyun Depression generated a large group of palynopore assemblages and fluvial/lacustrine-related algae during the early and middle Eocene when the Wenchang Formation was deposited.The entire depression was dominated by fluvial and lacustrine facies before transgression.Its eastern and southeastern sags transitioned to shallow marine environment by generating a large abundance of marine dinoflagellates during the Enping deposition of the late Eocene.Meanwhile,the southern uplift zone simply yielded fluvial/lacustrine-related palynopores and algae,and was dominated by the fluvial and lacustrine environment during the early stage of the Enping Formation,prior to shifting into transitional setting in the later period.Northwestern sags remained extensive fluvial and delta facies without existence of marine dinoflagellates.It was until the depositional stage of the Zhuhai Formation(Oligocene)that the overall depression was strongly impacted from transgression process.Both eastern and southeastern sags were mainly under deep marine setting on a continental slope while northwestern and southern areas developed transitional facies.Although distribution and accumulation patterns varied greatly among sub-sags,the overall Baiyun Depression was characterized by widespread development of marine dinoflagellates.It should be noted that the northwestern sag also partly generated large-scale river delta deposits.Due to the eustatic rise and change of SCS spreading axis,the overall Baiyun Depression was mostly influenced by the deep marine environment on a continental slope during the early Miocene.Both northwestern sag and southern uplift zone were found plentiful marine dinoflagellates.In summary,transgression initiated from the eastern and southeastern Baiyun Depression before subsequently progressing into the farther west.Evolution of transgression process is also greatly consistent with the gradual westward expansion of the SCS.

Exploring social-ecological system resilience in South China Karst:Quantification,interaction and policy implication

China’s Grain to Green Program(GTGP),which is one of the largest payments for ecosystem services(PES)in the world,has made significant ecological improvements to the environment.However,current understanding of its outcomes on the social-ecological system(SES)remains limited.Therefore,taking the South China Karst as an example,a SES resilience evaluation index system was constructed followed by an exploratory spatial analysis,root mean square error,and Self-Organizing Feature Map to clarify the spatiotemporal changes and relationship of SES resilience,achieve the zoning of SES resilience and provide restoration measures.The results showed an upward trend in social resilience from 2000 to 2020,especially its subsystem of social development.Regional ecological resilience was stable,owing to a slightly declined ecosystem services and increased landscape pattern.Spatially,nearly half of the counties exhibited a distribution mismatch in SES resilience.There was an obvious inverted U-shaped relationship of SES resilience,indicating a clear threshold effect,and the constraint relation-ship of SES resilience eased over time,demonstrating the effectiveness of the ecological restoration program.GTGP played a positive role in reducing regional SES trade-off,but this positive effect was limited,reflecting the limitations of overemphasizing the conversion from farmland to forest and grassland.Regional SES resilience can be divided into four clusters,which were the key optimization zone for social system,the SES resilience safety zone,the key restoration zone for SES resilience,and the key optimization zone for ecological system.Adaptive adjustments for the GTGP in these zones should be taken to achieve maximum SES benefits in the future.

Different ENSO Impacts on Eastern China Precipitation Patterns in Early and Late Winter Associated with Seasonally-Varying Kuroshio Anticyclonic Anomalies

Winter precipitation over eastern China displays remarkable interannual variability,which has been suggested to be closely related to El Niño-Southern Oscillation(ENSO).This study finds that ENSO impacts on eastern China precipitation patterns exhibit obvious differences in early(November-December)and late(January-February)winter.In early winter,precipitation anomalies associated with ENSO are characterized by a monopole spatial distribution over eastern China.In contrast,the precipitation anomaly pattern in late winter remarkably changes,manifesting as a dipole spatial distribution.The noteworthy change in precipitation responses from early to late winter can be largely attributed to the seasonally varying Kuroshio anticyclonic anomalies.During the early winter of El Niño years,anticyclonic circulation anomalies appear both over the Philippine Sea and Kuroshio region,enhancing water vapor transport to the entirety of eastern China,thus contributing to more precipitation there.During the late winter of El Niño years,the anticyclone over the Philippine Sea is further strengthened,while the one over the Kuroshio dissipates,which could result in differing water vapor transport between northern and southern parts of eastern China and thus a dipole precipitation distribution.Roughly the opposite anomalies of circulation and precipitation are displayed during La Niña winters.Further analysis suggests that the seasonally-varying Kuroshio anticyclonic anomalies are possibly related to the enhancement of ENSO-related tropical central-eastern Pacific convection from early to late winter.These results have important implications for the seasonal-tointerannual predictability of winter precipitation over eastern China.

Spatio-Temporal Characteristics of Heavy Precipitation Forecasts from ECMWF in Eastern China

This study examines the spatio-temporal characteristics of heavy precipitation forecasts in eastern China from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts(ECMWF) using the time-domain version of the Method for Object-based Diagnostic Evaluation(MODE-TD). A total of 23 heavy rainfall cases occurring between 2018 and 2021 are selected for analysis. Using Typhoon “Rumbia” as a case study, the paper illustrates how the MODE-TD method assesses the overall simulation capability of models for the life history of precipitation systems. The results of multiple tests with different parameter configurations reveal that the model underestimates the number of objects’ forecasted precipitation tracks, particularly at smaller radii. Additionally, the analysis based on centroid offset and area ratio tests for different classified precipitation objects indicates that the model performs better in predicting large-area, fast-moving, and longlifespan precipitation objects. Conversely, it tends to have less accurate predictions for small-area, slow-moving, and shortlifespan precipitation objects. In terms of temporal characteristics, the model overestimates the forecasted movement speed for precipitation objects with small-area, slow movement, or both long and short lifespans while underestimating it for precipitation with fast movement. In terms of temporal characteristics, the model tends to overestimate the forecasted movement speed for precipitation objects with small-area, slow movement, or both long and short lifespans while underestimating it for precipitation with fast movement. Overall, the model provides more accurate predictions for the duration and dissipation of precipitation objects with large-area or long-lifespan(such as typhoon precipitation) while having large prediction errors for precipitation objects with small-area or short-lifespan. Furthermore, the model’s simulation results regarding the generation of precipitation objects show that it performs relatively well in simulating the generation of large-area and fast-moving precipitation objects. However, there are significant differences in the forecasted generation of small-area and slow-moving precipitation objects after 9 hours.

Assessment of International GNSS Service Global Ionosphere Map products over China region based on measurements from the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China

The global ionosphere maps(GIM)provided by the International GNSS Service(IGS)are extensively utilized for ionospheric morphology monitoring,scientific research,and practical application.Assessing the credibility of GIM products in data-sparse regions is of paramount importance.In this study,measurements from the Crustal Movement Observation Network of China(CMONOC)are leveraged to evaluate the suitability of IGS-GIM products over China region in 2013-2014.The indices of mean error(ME),root mean square error(RMSE),and normalized RMSE(NRMSE)are then utilized to quantify the accuracy of IGS-GIM products.Results revealed distinct local time and latitudinal dependencies in IGS-GIM errors,with substantially high errors at nighttime(NRMSE:39%)and above 40°latitude(NRMSE:49%).Seasonal differences also emerged,with larger equinoctial deviations(NRMSE:33.5%)compared with summer(20%).A preliminary analysis implied that the irregular assimilation of sparse IGS observations,compounded by China’s distinct geomagnetic topology,may manifest as error variations.These results suggest that modeling based solely on IGS-GIM observations engenders inadequate representations across China and that a thorough examination would proffer the necessary foundation for advancing regional total electron content(TEC)constructions.

U-Pb zircon geochronology of basaltic pyroclastic rocks from the basement beneath the Xisha Islands in the northwestern South China Sea and its geological significance

As one of the micro-blocks dispersed in the South China Sea(SCS), the basement of the Xisha Islands has rarely been drilled because of the thick overlying Cenozoic sediments, which has led to a confused understanding of the pre-Cenozoic basement of the Xisha Islands. Well CK-1, a kilometer-scale major scientific drill in the Xisha Islands in the northwestern SCS, penetrated thick reefal limestone(0–888.4 m) and the underlying basement rocks(888.4–901.4 m). In this study, we present the zircon U-Pb ages of basement basaltic pyroclastic rocks from Well CK-1 in the Xisha Islands of the northwestern SCS to investigate the basement nature of the Xisha microblock. The basement of Well CK-1 consists of basaltic pyroclastic rocks on the seamount. The zircon grains yielded apparent ages ranging from ca. 2 138.9 Ma to ca. 36 Ma. The old group of zircon grains from Well CK-1 was considered to be inherited zircons. Two Cenozoic zircons gave a weighted mean 206Pb/238U age of(36.3 ± 1.1) Ma,Mean Squared Weighted Deviations(MSWD) = 1.2, which may represent the maximum age of the volcano eruption. The Yanshanian inherited zircons(116.9–105.7 Ma and 146.1–130.2 Ma) from Well CK-1 are consistent with the zircons from Well XK-1, indicating that the basement of Chenhang Island may be similar to that of Well XK-1. We propose that the Xisha micro-block may have developed on a uniform Late Jurassic metamorphic crystalline basement, intruded by Cretaceous granitic magma.