The tallest sand dune worldwide is located in the Badain Jaran Desert(BJD),China,and has been standing for thousands of years.Previous studies have conducted limited physical exploration and excavation on the formatio...The tallest sand dune worldwide is located in the Badain Jaran Desert(BJD),China,and has been standing for thousands of years.Previous studies have conducted limited physical exploration and excavation on the formation of sand dunes and have proposed three viewpoints,that is,bedrock control,wind dominance,and groundwater maintenance with no unified conclusion.Therefore,this study analyzed the underlying bedding structure of sand dunes in the BJD.Although the bedrock of sand dunes is uplifted and wind controls the shape of dunes,the main cause of dune formation is groundwater that maintains the deposition of calcareous sandstone and accumulation of aeolian sand.According to water transport model and vapor transports in the unsaturated zone of sand dunes,capillary water transport height is limited with film water constituting the main form of water in dunes.Chemical properties and temperature of groundwater showed that aquifers in different basins receive relatively independent recharge from deep sources in the crater.Result of dune formation mechanism is of considerable importance in understanding groundwater circulation and provides a new perspective on water management in arid desert areas.展开更多
At several mineral exploration drilling sites in Australia, weakly consolidated formations mainly consistof sand particles that are poorly bonded by cementing agents such as clay, iron oxide cement or calcite.These fo...At several mineral exploration drilling sites in Australia, weakly consolidated formations mainly consistof sand particles that are poorly bonded by cementing agents such as clay, iron oxide cement or calcite.These formations are being encountered when drilling boreholes to the depth of up to 2 0 0 m. To studythe behaviour of these materials, thick-walled hollow cylinder （TWHC） and solid cylindrical syntheticspecimens were designed and prepared by adding Portland cement and water to sand grains. The effectsof different parameters such as water and cement contents, grain size distribution and mixture curingtime on the characteristics of the samples were studied to identify the mixture closely resembling theformation at the drilling site. The Hoek triaxia! cell was modified to allow the visual monitoring of graindebonding and borehole breakout processes during the laboratory tests. The results showed the significanceof real-time visual monitoring in determining the initiation of the borehole breakout. The sizescaleeffect study on TWHC specimens revealed that with the increasing borehole size, the ductility ofthe specimen decreases, however, the axial and lateral stiffnesses of the TWHC specimen remain unchanged.Under different confining pressures the lateral strain at the initiation point of boreholebreakout is considerably lower in a larger size borehole （2 0 mm） compared to that in a smaller one（10 mm）. Also, it was observed that the level of peak strength increment in TWHC specimens decreaseswith the increasing confining pressure.展开更多
Detailed fieldwork in parts of the Benin (Dahomey) Basin SW, Nigeria has allowed the recognition of sedimentary successions deposited in different continental depositional environments interpreted as fluvial sedimenta...Detailed fieldwork in parts of the Benin (Dahomey) Basin SW, Nigeria has allowed the recognition of sedimentary successions deposited in different continental depositional environments interpreted as fluvial sedimentation characterised by abandoned channels and subaerial exposure features. The lithofacies recognised are: conglomerates, debris flow deposits, very coarse grained sandstone, ferruginous cross bedded sandstone, siltstone, shale/clay and massive sand. The lithofacies were interpreted in terms of sequence stratigraphic elements with the recognition of sequence boundaries characterised by distinct facies dislocations and subaerial exposures. Four depositional sequences (DS I to DS IV) were identified. Depositional sequences (DS I) exhibited a complete regressive–transgressive cycle comprising LST, TST and HST, while DS II to DS IV were incomplete comprising of sediments interpreted as LST deposits. On the basis of the depositional facies and sequence stratigraphic elements, the sediments in the area of study are interpreted as predominantly of Ilaro Formation while fewer exposures are sediments of the Coastal Plain Sands/ Benin Formation. This observation suggests a re-interpretation of the Tertiary sedimentary successions, which hitherto recognised all the sediments in the area of study as Coastal Plain Sands.展开更多
基金This work was funded by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(61771183).
文摘The tallest sand dune worldwide is located in the Badain Jaran Desert(BJD),China,and has been standing for thousands of years.Previous studies have conducted limited physical exploration and excavation on the formation of sand dunes and have proposed three viewpoints,that is,bedrock control,wind dominance,and groundwater maintenance with no unified conclusion.Therefore,this study analyzed the underlying bedding structure of sand dunes in the BJD.Although the bedrock of sand dunes is uplifted and wind controls the shape of dunes,the main cause of dune formation is groundwater that maintains the deposition of calcareous sandstone and accumulation of aeolian sand.According to water transport model and vapor transports in the unsaturated zone of sand dunes,capillary water transport height is limited with film water constituting the main form of water in dunes.Chemical properties and temperature of groundwater showed that aquifers in different basins receive relatively independent recharge from deep sources in the crater.Result of dune formation mechanism is of considerable importance in understanding groundwater circulation and provides a new perspective on water management in arid desert areas.
基金supported by the Deep Exploration Technologies Cooperative Research Centre whose activities are funded by the Australian Government’s Research Programme
文摘At several mineral exploration drilling sites in Australia, weakly consolidated formations mainly consistof sand particles that are poorly bonded by cementing agents such as clay, iron oxide cement or calcite.These formations are being encountered when drilling boreholes to the depth of up to 2 0 0 m. To studythe behaviour of these materials, thick-walled hollow cylinder （TWHC） and solid cylindrical syntheticspecimens were designed and prepared by adding Portland cement and water to sand grains. The effectsof different parameters such as water and cement contents, grain size distribution and mixture curingtime on the characteristics of the samples were studied to identify the mixture closely resembling theformation at the drilling site. The Hoek triaxia! cell was modified to allow the visual monitoring of graindebonding and borehole breakout processes during the laboratory tests. The results showed the significanceof real-time visual monitoring in determining the initiation of the borehole breakout. The sizescaleeffect study on TWHC specimens revealed that with the increasing borehole size, the ductility ofthe specimen decreases, however, the axial and lateral stiffnesses of the TWHC specimen remain unchanged.Under different confining pressures the lateral strain at the initiation point of boreholebreakout is considerably lower in a larger size borehole （2 0 mm） compared to that in a smaller one（10 mm）. Also, it was observed that the level of peak strength increment in TWHC specimens decreaseswith the increasing confining pressure.
文摘Detailed fieldwork in parts of the Benin (Dahomey) Basin SW, Nigeria has allowed the recognition of sedimentary successions deposited in different continental depositional environments interpreted as fluvial sedimentation characterised by abandoned channels and subaerial exposure features. The lithofacies recognised are: conglomerates, debris flow deposits, very coarse grained sandstone, ferruginous cross bedded sandstone, siltstone, shale/clay and massive sand. The lithofacies were interpreted in terms of sequence stratigraphic elements with the recognition of sequence boundaries characterised by distinct facies dislocations and subaerial exposures. Four depositional sequences (DS I to DS IV) were identified. Depositional sequences (DS I) exhibited a complete regressive–transgressive cycle comprising LST, TST and HST, while DS II to DS IV were incomplete comprising of sediments interpreted as LST deposits. On the basis of the depositional facies and sequence stratigraphic elements, the sediments in the area of study are interpreted as predominantly of Ilaro Formation while fewer exposures are sediments of the Coastal Plain Sands/ Benin Formation. This observation suggests a re-interpretation of the Tertiary sedimentary successions, which hitherto recognised all the sediments in the area of study as Coastal Plain Sands.
