Demarcation of Seabuckthorn Plantations in Three Northern Areas of China

Seabuckthorn （Hippophae rhamnoides） planting areas in the three northern areas （north, northeast and northwest） of China are divided into five planting zones： the semi-humid forest prairie climate zone for ecological and economic types of seabuckthorn plantations in the southern part of the Loess Plateau; the semi-arid steppe climate zone for similar types of plantations in the central part of the Loess Plateau; the arid desert steppe climate zone for ecological type of seabuckthorn plantations in the northern part of the Loess Plateau; the semi-arid and semi-humid steppe climate zone again for ecological and economic types of plantations in northern Hebei and western Liaoning and the cold humid steppe climate zone for economic types of plantations in the northern part of northeast China. The aim of this demarcation is to avoid a random introduction of seabuckthorn. In each of the five zones, objectives should be set and suitable seabuckthorn species, subspecies and varieties should be planted according to site conditions, seed sources and methods of tree breeding. The cultivation centers, bases, stations, or units should be established and successful models of seedling and planting methods should be encouraged. The principle of matching trees with suitable site conditions and adjusting measures to local conditions should be practiced. From a strategic viewpoint of solving ecological and economic problems of seabuckthorn development in the three northern areas, every seabuckthorn center must have its own germplasm nursery, standard plantation for popularizing, excellent seed and seedling nurseries and sufficient afforestation areas for demonstration and propaganda purposes. These measures would improve the ecological environment and promote economic and social development in the three northern areas of China.

An analysis of oasis stability in arid areas:a case study in the northern slope areas of the Tianshan Mountains

This paper discusses oasis stability at regional scale with a case study in the northern slope areas of the Tianshan Mountains (NSTM). The results showed certain significant aspects. (1) As long as water resources in the oasis keep stable and their utilization efficiency can be maintained or gradually increased, the primary productivity could be continuously increased and the natural primary productivity keeped relatively stable. In this case, it is considered that the oasis is stable and its sustainable development can be achieved at regional scale. (2) Considering the availability of water resources in the oases, the oases on the alluvial-diluvial fans are highly stable. In the alluvial plain downstream of the groundwater overflowing zones the oases are moderately stable and in the lacustrine deltas or dry lacustrine deltas the oases are lowly stable. (3) Enlargement of oases and the increase of water resources and vegetation coverage in the oasis will certainly enhance the 'cold-island effect' of the oasis and increase the stability of oases.

Oil／Gas Accumulation Characteristics and Exploration Methods of the Deltaic Lithologic Reservoirs in Northern Shaanxi Area

There are large deltaic systems in the Triassic Yanchang Formation in the northern Shaanxi area of the Ordos Basin, and developed two sets of good source-reservoir-caprock assemblages and many sets of oil-bearing beds. Exploration experience demonstrates that the formation and distribution of the reservoir were controlled by the generative depression of the Yanchang Formation, and deltaic reservoir sand body is the material basis for large-scale oilfields. In addition, secondary laumontite in a low permeable area was dissolved and then a high permeable area was formed. The updip lithologic variety of reservoir sand bodies is favorable to the formation of subtle lithologic traps, and the deltaic reservoirs are characterized by large multi-beds of oil-generation and abundant hydrocarbon resources. In this paper, the petroleum geologic settings of the studied area are analyzed, and the accumulation characteristics and exploration methods of lithologic reservoirs are summarized. It is of theoretical significance for the study of the exploration theories of lithologic reservoirs, and also expedites the exploration steps of deltaic reservoirs in the northern Shaanxi area.

Metallogenic Age of Dapinggou Gold Deposit in Northern Altun Area, Northwestern China

Studying the metallogenic age of Dapinggou gold deposit may provide important material not only for the study of metallization and the further prospecting of gold deposits but also for research into tectonic evolution in the Altun area. In this study, we used Rb-Sr isotopic dating method of fluid inclusion in the Au-bearing quartz, combining field investigation, REE, sulfur isotopes, lead isotopes, strontium isotopes and hydrogen-oxygen isotope, to determine the metallogenic age of the Dapinggou gold deposit. The only newly-discovered medium-sized gold deposit in the northern Altun area, Dapinggou gold deposit, is controlled by a ductile shear zone. It is characterized by mainly altered mylonite-types with a little K-feldspar quartz vein-types. Data from REE, sulfur isotopes, lead isotopes and strontium isotopes show that the source materials of the deposit were derived mainly from the metamorphic rocks. The data from the inclusion and hydrogen-oxygen isotope indicate that the ore-forming fluid came mainly from dynamic metamorphic water and partly from remelting magmatic water, with a little influence from meteoric water. The density of the ore-forming fluid is 0. 791 - 0. 971g/cm^3 and it contains 2.36 %-5.5 % salinity, The gold deposit was formed at 1.61-2.68 km below the surface at a temperature of 198--290 ℃ and a pressure of （420-700） × 10^5 Pa. The isotopic age from the Rb-Sr isochron of fluid inclusion in quartz is 487 Ma, which indicates that the mineralization occurred in the early Caledonian epoch. The study on the metallogenic age of Dapinggou gold deposit may provide important material not only for the study of metallization and the further prospecting of gold deposits but also for research into tectonic evolution in the Altun area.

Huanggang Intrusive Complexin Northern Tongbai Area:Island-Arc Tectonic Environment and Its Geological Significance

The Huanggang intrusive complex in northern Tongbai area was formed in Early Paleozoic. It mainly consists of ultra basic, basic, intermediate and acid rocks, dominated by intermediate and basic rocks. The complex belongs to calc alkaline series. Geochemical characteristics of major and trace elements show that the complex was derived from the fractional crystallization of co source magma. It is suggested that the complex was formed in island arc tectonic environment and was closely related to the northward subduction of the Erlangping back arc basin. Thus, the subduction of the back arc basin can induce the island arc type magmatism similar to the one formed in the setting of ocean plate subduction.

Crustal Electrical Structure and Deep Metallogenic Potential in Northern Wuyi Area(South China),based on Magnetotelluric Data

The northern Wuyi area,which is located in the northern Wuyi metallogenic belt,has superior mineralization conditions.The Pingxiang-Guangfeng-Jiangshan-Shaoxing fault(PSF)extends across the whole region regardless of whether or how the PSF relates to the near-surface mineralization.We carried out an MT survey in the region and obtained a reliable 2D model of the crustal electrical structure to a depth of 30 km.In the resistivity model,we inferred that a continuous high conductivity belt that ranges from the shallow to deep crust is a part of the PSF.Then,we estimated the fluid content and pressure gradient to identify the deep sources of fluid as well as its pattern of motion pattern.Finally,we proposed a model for the deep metallogenic migration processes that combines geological data,fluid content data,pressure gradient data,and the subsurface resistivity model.The model analysis showed that the Jiangnan orogenic belt and the Cathaysia block formed the PSF during the process of com.The deep fluid migrated upward through the PSF to the shallow crust.Therefore,we believe that the PSF is an ore-forming fluid migration channel and that it laid the material basis for large-scale mineralization in the shallow crust.

The sea/land breeze in the northern coastal area of Shandong Peninsula

In this paper the seasonal variation and structural characteristics of the sea/ land breeze in the northern coastal area of' Shandong Peninsula are studied in two ways: one is the analysis of the observed wind data, and the other is numerical simulation and experiments. Firstly, the hour to hour wind data through the year 1984 at Longkou Meteorological Station and Yantai Oceanographic Station are analysed through energy spectra and hodograph. It is revealed from the analysed results that the effects of the sea/ land breeze in the area are notable in spring, summer and fall, especially in May. However, in winter the effects of sea / land breeze are not obvious. because the cold noitherly is prevailing. Secondly, a two-dimensional non- linear model of primitive equations is used to study the sea / land breeze circulation in May in the area. The results of numerical simulation consist basically with the analysed results of the observed sea / land breeze. A reasonable theoretical structure of the sea / land breeze circulation is displayed, and a new undeerslanding of the developmental mechanism of land breeze circulation in that area is obtained. Lastly, numerical experiments about the effects of large scale wind and temperature fields upon the sea / land breeze circulation are performed.

Simulation of the Accumulation Process of Biogenic Gas Hydrates in the Shenhu Area of Northern South China Sea

Previous work has largely discussed the relations between sediment structures and accumulation of gas hydrates in the Shenhu area of South China Sea, but has not documented why the gas hydrates occurred at the seafloor topographic highs. Many gas hydrate exploration examples abroad also indicate that the saturation of gas hydrates was higher at seafloor topographic highs. This work aims to understand why gas hydrates accumulated at topographic highs and why their saturation is higher.

Revisit of event-based rainfall characteristics at Shapotou area in northern China

Distribution of rainfall event sizes and interval lengths between events are important characteristics of arid and semi-arid climates. Understanding their importance will contribute to our ability to understand ecosystem dynamics in these regions. Rainfall event timing and magnitude are important drivers of ecosystem processes and are instrumental in creating land-scape heterogeneity in arid and semi-arid regions. Rainfall event characteristics were analyzed using an automatic tip-ping-bucket rain-gauge record across the entire summer monsoon season from 2008 to 2015 at the arid desert area of Shapotou in the Tengger Desert, China. Changing the minimum inter-event time （MIT） from 30 min to 24 h alters the number of rainfall events from 64 to 25 for the event depth larger than 0.1 mm. The mean rainfall intensity declined from 0.95 mm/h to 0.53 mm/h, and the geometric mean event duration rose from 0.55 h to 4.4 h. The number of rainfall events, mean rainfall intensity, and geometric mean event duration differed under different criteria of individual rainfall depths, except that for an individual rainfall depth of 0.5, 1.0, and 5.0 mm. The aforementioned features differed only at the lowest range of the mean rainfall intensity and depth for MIT=3 and 6 h. These findings suggest that identification of event-based rainfall in this specific arid region can be better achieved by setting the MIT at six hours. The wide variation in rainfall event properties indicate the need for paying more attention to the proper selection and reporting of event criteria in studies that adopt event-based data analysis. This is especially true in quantifying effective rainfall for soil water replenishment in terms of rainfall depth and intensity with infrequent rainfall events.

Using Landsat images to monitor changes in the snow-covered area of selected glaciers in northern Pakistan

Landsat satellite images were used to map and monitor the snow-covered areas of four glaciers with different aspects(Passu: 36.473°N, 74.766°E;Momhil: 36.394°N, 75.085°E; Trivor: 36.249°N,74.968°E; and Kunyang: 36.083°N, 75.288°E) in the upper Indus basin, northern Pakistan, from 1990-2014. The snow-covered areas of the selected glaciers were identified and classified using supervised and rule-based image analysis techniques in three different seasons. Accuracy assessment of the classified images indicated that the supervised classification technique performed slightly better than the rule-based technique. Snow-covered areas on the selected glaciers were generally reduced during the study period but at different rates. Glaciers reached maximum areal snow coverage in winter and premonsoon seasons and minimum areal snow coverage in monsoon seasons, with the lowest snow-covered area occurring in August and September. The snowcovered area on Passu glacier decreased by 24.50%,3.15% and 11.25% in the pre-monsoon, monsoon and post-monsoon seasons, respectively. Similarly, the other three glaciers showed notable decreases in snow-covered area during the pre-and post-monsoon seasons; however, no clear changes were observed during monsoon seasons. During pre-monsoon seasons, the eastward-facing glacier lost comparatively more snow-covered area than the westward-facing glacier. The average seasonal glacier surface temperature calculated from the Landsat thermal band showed negative correlations of-0.67,-0.89,-0.75 and-0.77 with the average seasonal snowcovered areas of the Passu, Momhil, Trivor and Kunyang glaciers, respectively, during pre-monsoon seasons. Similarly, the air temperature collected from a nearby meteorological station showed an increasing trend, indicating that the snow-covered area reduction in the region was largely due to climate warming.

Characteristics and genesis of clay minerals in the northern margin of the Qaidam Basin

In order to develop appropriate reservoir protection measures in the northern margin of the Qaidam Basin and improve its oil and gas recovery efficiency,characteristics of clay minerals from eleven clay rock samples from the northern margin of the Qaidam Basin were investigated using X-ray diffraction analysis,the Scanning Electron Microscope（SEM）and energy spectrum analysis.Clay mineral composition and distribution characteristics of the main hydrocarbon reservoirs,i.e.,from the Jurassic and Paleogene-Neogene,were explored.We analyzed the main factors which affected these attributes.The results show that the major clay minerals in the northern margin are chlorite,kaolinite,illite,smectite and illite/smectite inter-stratified minerals.Illite is the most widely spread clay mineral in this area. Chlorite is mainly found in the entire Neogene and in shallow horizons of the Paleogene.Smectite is enriched in the shallow Paleogene-Neogene.There are large amounts of kaolinite and illite/smectite inter-stratified minerals in the Jurassic.The major factors affecting the different development of clay minerals in the region are properties of parent rocks,paleoclimate and paleowater media conditions, diagenesis transformation,tectonic and terrain conditions.

The Middle Devonian Bimodal Association of Volcanic Rocks in the Northern Area of East Junggar, Xinjiang

The Middle Devonian volcanic rocks in the northern area of East Junggar, located between the Ertix andUlungur rivers of northern Xinjiang, may be divided into basic and acid ones. It is evident that a compositionalgap exists between the two groups so that the volcanic rocks are not in line with a calc-alkaline series becausethe intermediate rocks are absent in the area. The fact shows that the volcanic rocks are a typical bimodal asso-ciation. The formation of the bimodal association of volcanic rocks in the area was closely related to continen-tal rifting or continental extension in the Middle Devonian. In such a tectonic setting, magmas were first pro-duced by partial melting of the mantle. Where crustal thinning was greater, the magmas ascended and eruptedon the surface directly so that the basic volcanic rocks formed, but olivine and/or partial pyroxenefractionation occurred in the magmas during their ascent through the thinning crust. On the other hand, wherecrustal thinning was less, ascending mantle-derived magmas reached the lower crust and accumulated there, re-sulting in partial melting of the lower crust and thus giving rise to the contaminated magma which was consoli-dated as acid volcanic rocks on the surface.

S wave inelastic attenuation and site effect in the northern Tianshan area

In this paper, according to the relationship of observation spectrum with source spectrum, travel-path attenuation factor and site effect, we use the digital seismic data of moderate-small earthquakes to invert the soft rock site effect and S wave inelastic attenuation under the constraint of site effect, and determine the parameters of path and site. The parameters obtained by this method exclude the topographic effect of seismic stations, and truly reflect the seismic effect of free soft rock sites and the S wave inelastic attenuation in the studied region. The average soft rock site effect is about 1.5 times in the frequency domain of 2-4 Hz and the S wave quality factor is obtained as Qs=278f0.346, which can be directly applied to the stochastic modeling of ground motions in the studied region.

Focal Mechanism Solutions and Stress Field Inversion of Moderately Strong Earthquakes in the Northern Tianshan Area

Using the focal mechanism solutions of 24 moderately strong earthquakes in the northern Tianshan area,we carried out system cluster and stress field inversion analysis.The result indicates that,the focal mechanism solutions of moderately strong earthquakes are mainly dip-slip reverse faulting in the northern Tianshan area.The principal rupture planes of earthquakes are NW-oriented.It is basically consistent with the strike of earthquake structure in its adjacent area.The direction of the principal compression stress P axis is nearly NS,and its inclination angle is small;while the inclination angle of the principal extensional stress T axis is large.It shows that the regional stress field is mainly controlled by the near-NS horizontal compressive stress.The direction of the maximum principal stress shows a gradation process of NNE-NS-NW from east to west.

Effects of Different Modes of Returning Farmland to Forest on Physicochemical Properties of Soil in Bashang Area of Northern Hebei Province

[Objective]The research aimed to understand the change rules of physicochemical properties of soil in the different modes of returning farmland to forest.[Method]The physicochemical properties of soil in three different types of returning farmland to forest(Hippophae rhamnoides Linn.forest,Caragana korshinskii forest and Ulmus pumila L.forest)were analyzed by taking the enclosed grassland as comparison in Bashang area of northern Hebei Province.[Result]The results showed that there were significant differences among different types.Order of the bulk density of soil:H.rhamnoides Linn.forest(1.17 g/cm^3)<U.pumila L.forest(1.24 g/cm^3)<C.korshinskii forest(1.26 g/cm^3)<enclosed grassland(1.61 g/cm^3);order of the total porosity of soil:H.rhamnoides Linn.forest(55.29%)>U.pumila L.forest(52.55%)>C.korshinskii forest(51.93%)<enclosed grassland(38.85%);order of the organic matter content of soil:H.rhamnoides Linn.forest(3.191%)>C.korshinskii forest(3.128%)>U.pumila L.forest(2.804%)>enclosed grassland(2.536%).[Conclusion]After returning farmland to forest,vegetation played a positive role in physicochemical properties of soil.There were significant differences in physicochemical properties of soil among different modes of returning farmland to forest,and the improvement effect of H.rhamnoides Linn.forest on physicochemical properties of soil was the best.

Reconstruction of Lu-level cropland areas in the Northern Song Dynasty （AD976-1078）

Based on data on taxed-cropland area and on the number of households in historical documents, a probabilistic model of cropland distribution and a cropland area allocation model were designed and validated. Cropland areas for the years AD976, 997, 1066, and 1078 were estimated at the level of Lu（an administrative region of the Northern Song Dynasty）. The results indicated that（1） the cropland area of the whole study region for AD976, 997, 1066, and 1078 was about 468.27 million mu（a Chinese unit of area, with1 mu=666.7m2）, 495.53 million mu, 697.65 million mu, and 731.94 million mu, respectively. The fractional cropland area（FCA） increased from 10.7% to 16.8%, and the per capita cropland area decreased from 15.7 mu to 8.4 mu.（2） With regard to the cropland spatial pattern, the FCA of the southeast, north, and southwest regions of the Northern Song territory increased by 12.0%, 5.2%, and 1.2%, respectively. The FCA of some regions in the Yangtze River Plain increased to greater than 40%, and the FCA of the North China Plain increased to greater than 20%. However, the FCA of the southwest region（except for the Chengdu Plain） in the Northern Song territory was less than 6%.（3） There were 84.2% Lus whose absolute relative error was smaller than 20% in the mid Northern Song Dynasty. The validation results indicate that our models are reasonable and that the results of reconstruction are credible.

Growing correlation length of moderate-sized earthquakes prior to two great earthquakes near Sumatra Island

Seismic correlation length for moderate earthquakes prior to two great earthquakes in the northern sea area of Sumatra Island （Mw9.1 in 2004 and MsS. 6 in 2012） has been studied, using method of Single- Link-Cluster （ SLC ） analysis, and found to show a power-law growth about two years before their occurrences. No such growth was found for a magnitude 7 earthquake in the same area. This result suggests the occurrence of a physical process of critical-point characteristics in the source area before the great earthquakes.

Phytoplanktonic biogeography in the subtropical coastal waters,East China Sea along intensive anthropogenic stresses: roles of environmental versus spatial factors

Understanding the relative roles of local environmental effects and spatial effects on phytoplankton community is of essential importance to study the biogeography of them at regional scale. However, the determinants that driving the biogeography of phytoplankton communities in the coastal area of northern Zhejiang still remained unclear. We surveyed phytoplankton community compositions in water columns associated with environmental and spatial influences across five subzones that geographically covering this region over four seasons. Diatoms and dinoflagellates were recorded as the main dominant groups and Coscinodiscus oculs-iridis, Coscinodiscus jonesianus, and Skeletonema costatum, were identified as the major abundant species existing in all seasons.Spatially structured environmental conditions, rather than pure spatial or environmental factors, substantially shaped the biogeography of phytoplankton community, with the former mainly comprised of water temperature,dissolved oxygen, phosphate, pH, and salinity, and the latter referring to a non-negligible factor. This study was the first integrated research that combining environmental filtering with spatial factors in structuring phytoplankton communities at a complete tempo-spatial scale. Our results may facilitate to the further study of harmful algal blooms early-warning in this region.