Volume 13, Issue 1

This paper presents the results of new studies of Saalian tills, from the Ławki and Rogowiec formations, filling the Kleszczów Graben. The study area is located in the Szczerców outcrop, Bełchatów Lignite Opencast Mine, central Poland. Laboratory studies included macrofossil analysis of the deposits, as well as petrographic and geochemical (neodymium isotope ratio) measurements. The studies were carried out in 2014–2016 and resulted in both establishing the sedimentary Saalian complex and constructing geological cross-sections and a synthetic lithostratigraphic profile. Development of sediments in this part of the Kleszczów Graben in the Pleistocene was largely influenced by tectonic factors (Chabielice fault, Dębina Salt Dome) and glacitectonic processes (Wartanian Glaciation). The Saalian tills (T4 – Ławki and T7 – Rogowiec lithotypes) are between the Holsteinian sand with macroremnants of trees and the Eemian gyttja and peat. Petrographic coefficients for lithotype T4 (Ławki Formation) are 1.33–1.06–1.01 and 0.12 and for lithotype T7 (Rogowiec Formation) are 1.29–1.23–1.04 and 0.12. Investigations of the Nd isotopic compositions of the studied samples reinforce our interpretations of till deformation and tentative lithostratigraphic correlations. Neodymium isotope ratios “P” (−14.4 ± 0.7) and “D” (−12.4 ± 0.3) ε Nd values (2 σ ) correspond to mean signatures of Saalian glacigenic moraine sediment. This proves that ε Nd values less than −12.4 reflect the southern Fennoscandian Ice Sheet sediment provenance, but ε Nd values greater than −12.4 indicate the western European origin.

The land use for the deceased is not only for the dead but also for the living relatives. It competes with land use for living populations in urban areas through occupying a specific space of land. This article looks at this shared interest in humankind by mapping the land use for the deceased in the mid-twentieth century and modern Beijing and address the sustainability of future land use for dead in Beijing. Specifically, it clarifies the change of its area and location in the urban–regional structure and also considers the background factors. In the 1930s, the spatial distribution of cemeteries in the mid-twentieth century was mapped using the old topographic maps and also mainly using city government materials for modern times. A comparison of land use between the two periods shows that the spatial land use for the deceased continues to be the characteristics of traditional funeral values, Feng Shui philosophy, spatial separation of the dead, and the population, such as public cemeteries surrounding the built-up area. The city government reduced the pressure on land resources by encouraging land-saving burial such as undersea burial, which affects the value of funerals for citizens, resulting in an area of cemetery per urban population.

A major part of Poland, classified geographically as Polish Lowland, is covered by a layer of loose or cohesive sediments whose thickness increases toward the north. Numerous authors emphasize the impact of the protrusion of the erosional base level on the course of processes shaping modern river valleys. It has been demonstrated, among other things, that the culmination of the sub-alluvial, cohesive bedrock determines the manner in which the channel zone and the adjacent floodplain are formed, which is associated with the hydrological system of the river. A number (12) of geological documenting holes have been drilled to the bottom of the valley. Also, geological profiles were recorded for 34 natural outcrops. The range of the individual outcrops was determined using a geomorphological analysis based on, among other things, the data from airborne laser scanning. The main objective of the research based on geomorphological criteria was to identify the differences in valley morphology and geological structure as well as the dynamics of currently occurring fluvial processes, along with geological features influencing their development, in particular in the middle course of a river. The research allowed the distinction of three geologically and geomorphologically characteristic sections. This allowed an answer to the question: why is the river in the lowland similar to a mountain stream.

Although stochastic modeling methods can achieve multiple implementations of sedimentary microfacies model in dense well blocks, it is difficult to realize continuous convergence of well spacing. Taking the small high-sinuosity meandering river sediments of the third member of Quantou Formation in Songliao Basin as an example, a deterministic modeling method based on geological vector information was explored in this article. Quantitative geological characteristics of point bar sediments were analyzed by field outcrops, modern sediments, and dense well block anatomy. The lateral extension distance, length, and spacing parameters of the point bar were used to quantitatively characterize the thickness, dip angle, and frequency of the lateral layer. In addition, the three-dimensional architecture modeling of the point bar was carried out in the study. The established three-dimensional architecture model of well X24-1 had continuous convergence near all wells, which conformed to the geological knowledge of small high-sinuosity meandering river, and verified the reliability of this method in the process of geological modeling in dense well blocks.

The integrated study of seismic attributes and inversion analysis can provide a better understanding for predicting the hydrocarbon-bearing zones even in extreme heterogeneous reservoirs. This study aims to delineate and characterize the gas saturated zone within the reservoir (Cretaceous C-sand) interval of Sawan gas field, Middle Indus Basin, Pakistan. The hydrocarbon bearing zone is well identified through the seismic attribute analysis along a sand channel. The sparse-spike inversion analysis has efficiently captured the variations in reservoir parameter (P-impedance) for gas prospect. Inversion results indicated that the relatively lower P-impedance values are encountered along the predicted sand channel. To further characterize the reservoir, geostatistical techniques comprising multiattribute regression and probabilistic neural network (PNN) analysis are applied to predict the effective porosity of reservoir. Comparatively, the PNN analysis predicted the targeted property more efficiently and applied its estimations on entire seismic volume. Furthermore, the geostatistical estimations of PNN analysis significantly predicted the gas-bearing zones and confirmed the sand channel as a major contributor of gas accumulation in the area. These estimates are in appropriate agreement with each other, and the workflow adopted here can be applied to various South Asian regions and in other parts of the world for improved characterization of gas reservoirs.

Creep is a fundamental time-dependent property of rock. As one of the main surrounding rocks of underground engineering, layered siltstone is governed by creep to a great extent because of special structure. Based on the structural characteristics of layered siltstone, a viscoelastic–viscoplastic model was proposed to simulate and present its creep property. To verify the accuracy of the model, governing equation of the viscoelastic–viscoplastic model was introduced into finite element difference program to simulate a series of creep tests of layered siltstone. Meanwhile, creep tests on layered siltstone were conducted. Numerical simulation results of the viscoelastic–viscoplastic model were compared with creep test data. Mean relative error of creep test data and numerical simulation result was 0.41%. Combined with Lyapunov function, the radial basis function (RBF) neural network trained with creep test data was adopted. Mean relative error of creep test data and RBF neural network data was 0.57%. The results further showed high accuracy and stability of RBF neural network and the viscoelastic–viscoplastic model.

The objective of this study is to evaluate the efficiency of two well-known algorithms (Ocean Colour 4 for MERIS [OC4Me] and neural net [NN]) used in the calculation of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) from the Sentinel-3 Ocean and Land Colour Instrument (OLCI) compared to in situ measurements covering the Mediterranean Sea. In situ data set, obtained from the Copernicus Marine Environmental Monitoring Service (CMEMS) and more specifically from the data set with the title INSITU_MED_NRT_OBSERVATIONS_013_035, and Chl-a values at different depths were extracted. The concentration of Chl-a at a penetration depth was calculated. Then, water was classified into two categories, Case-1 and Case-2. For Case-2 waters, the OC4Me presents a moderate correlation with the in situ data for a time window of 0–2 h. In contrast with the NN algorithm, where very weak correlations were calculated, lower values of the statistical index of Bias for Case-1 waters were calculated for the OC4Me algorithm. Higher values of Pearson correlation were calculated ( r > 0.5) for OC4Me algorithm than NN. OC4Me performed better than NN.

The spatial and temporal evolution of the sandbody architecture of shallow-water deltas in open lacustrine basins is controlled by the classification of allocyclicity and autocyclicity. On the southwestern margin of the Ordos Basin, a braided river system deposited a shallow-water delta in the Late Triassic Period. Based on the principle of sequence stratigraphy and the hierarchical analysis of reservoir architecture, the spatial and temporal evolution of individual sandbodies in the Chang 8 1 member of the Yanchang Formation in the Zhenbei Oilfield is interpreted by utilizing data from cores, wells and outcrops. The research ideas are as follows: large deposition scale architectural elements (first- to third-order cycles, as defined by Miall) of different sequence levels are affected by allocyclicity associated with changes in tectonic activity, provenance, and sea level, and small deposition scale architectural elements (fourth- to fifth-order cycles, as defined by Miall) of different sedimentary facies mainly consist of individual sandbodies that are affected by autocyclicity associated with lake-level changes caused by various river processes. Based on previous studies, the results are as follows. The sedimentary characteristics of shallow-water deltas have been verified by core and outcrop data. In addition, three ultrashort-term cycles are identified on the basis of boundary sequences and lithofacies’ sequences in the outcrop section of the Rui River, and three sedimentary evolution stages of the delta front are defined. Finally, according to well data, five types of architectural elements at the level of single sandbodies are identified. The vertical superimposition and lateral contact relationships of different architectural elements indicate that during the three sedimentary evolution stages, the hydrodynamics weakened, strengthened slightly, and finally weakened substantially. Among the 20 kinds of architectural element spatial combination patterns formed by single sandbodies, primary and secondary sandbodies have great potential for hosting remaining oil. In the process of architectural spatiotemporal evolution, the geometry and connectivity of the underwater distributary channel gradually weakened, and the spatial relationship between the underwater distributary channel and other architectural elements increased. This article proposes a new method for researching shallow-water deltas and has some guiding significance for exploiting the remaining oil in oil fields.

Carbonate rocks frequently exhibit less predictable seismic attribute–porosity relationships because of complex and heterogeneous pore geometry. Pore geometry plays an important role in carbonate reservoir interpretation, as it influences acoustic and elastic characters. So in porosity prediction of carbonate reservoirs, pore geometry should be considered as a factor. Thus, based on Gassmann’s equation and Eshelby–Walsh ellipsoidal inclusion theory, we introduced a parameter C to stand by pore geometry and then deduced a porosity calculating expression from compressional expression of Gassmann’s equation. In this article, we present a porosity working flow as well as calculate methods of every parameter needed in the porosity inverting equation. From well testing and field application, it proves that the high-accuracy method is suitable for carbonate reservoirs.

The problem of model recovering in the presence of impulse noise on the data is considered for the magnetotelluric (MT) inverse problem. The application of total variation regularization along with L1-norm penalized data fitting (TVL1) is the usual approach for the impulse noise treatment in image recovery. This combination works poorly when a high level of impulse noise is present on the data. A nonconvex operator named smoothly clipped absolute deviation (TVSCAD) was recently applied to the image recovery problem. This operator is solved using a sequence of TVL1 equivalent problems, providing a significant improvement over TVL1. In practice, TVSCAD requires the selection of several parameters, a task that can be very difficult to attain. A more simple approach to the presence of impulse noise in data is presented here. A nonconvex function is also considered in the data fitness operator, along with the total variation regularization operator. The nonconvex operator is solved by following a half-quadratic procedure of minimization. Results are presented for synthetic and also for field data, assessing the proposed algorithm’s capacity in model recovering under the influence of impulse noise on data for the MT problem.

In this study, a new approach of the multivariate regression model has been applied to make a precise mathematical model to determine further drilling for the detailed iron exploration in the Koohbaba area, Northwest of Iran. Furthermore, to figure out the additional drilling locations, the ore length to the total core ratio for the drilled boreholes has been used based on the geophysical exploration dataset. Hence, different regression analyses including linear, cubic, and quadratic models have been applied. In this study, the ore length to the total core ratio of the chosen drilled boreholes has been considered as a dependent variable; besides, the outputs of the magnetic data using the UP10 (10m upward-continuation), RTP (reduction to the pole), and A.S. (analytic signal) techniques have been designated as independent variables. Based on probability value ( p -value), coefficients of determination ( R 2 and R adj 2 {R}_{\text{adj}}^{2} ), and efficiency formula (EF), the fourth regression model has revealed the best results. The accuracy of the model has been confirmed by the defined ratio of boreholes and demonstrated by four additional drilled boreholes in the study area. Therefore, the results of the regression analysis are reasonable and can be used to determine the additional drilling for the detailed exploration.

With increasing awareness of geotechnical risks in civil and mining structures, taking advantage of smartphone technology to study rocky slopes can play a key role in the development of safe and economical structures for human welfare. In Malawi, there is a research gap on application of portable devices to collect geotechnical data. Geological engineers still use the unsafe tedious handmapping technique to collect geotechnical data. A road cut that experiences frequent rockfall is used as a case study to investigate if there is a role for smartphones in geotechnics by comparing set statistics of data clusters collected through photogrammetry, smartphone and clar inclinometer. Besides low cost, smartphone’ data capture speed is faster than clar inclinometer. Stereographic and kinematic analysis shows that the 75° dipping road cut is predominantly prone to wedge failure with minor planar failure. For slope stability, Q -slope suggests a new slope angle of 60–66°. An acceptable tolerance limit or error between handmapping and remote data capture systems should be less than ±15°. Set analysis on 111 comparable data points gave a maximum pole vector difference of 10.5°, with the minimum having a difference of 4.8°. For dip, the standard deviations vary from 4.9 to 9.5°, while their mean values vary from −2 to 2.75°. For dip directions, the standard deviations vary from 3.2 to 4.3°, while their mean values vary from −6 to 0.75°. Therefore, android smartphones have a role in geotechnics due to their allowable orientation errors, which show less variance in measured dip/dip direction.

The black rock series in the Qiongzhusi Formation contains important geochemical information about the early Cambrian tectonic and ecological environment of the southwestern Yangtze Block. In this paper, major, trace, and rare earth element data are presented in an attempt to reveal the sediment source during the deposition of the early Cambrian Qiongzhusi Formation and to reconstruct the sedimentary tectonic environment and weathering intensity during that time. The basin primarily received continental clastic material with neutral-acidic igneous rocks from a stable source and with a moderate level of maturity during the depositional period of the Qiongzhusi Formation. Furthermore, the strata were weakly influenced by submarine hydrothermal fluids during diagenesis. The reconstruction of the sedimentary environment and weathering intensity shows that P 2 O 5 enrichment and water body stratification occurred due to the effects of upwelling ocean currents during the depositional period of the Qiongzhusi Formation. The combination of upwelling and bottom-water hydrothermal fluids led to environmental changes in the study area, from dry and hot to moist and warm. Last, the reconstruction of the tectonic environment of the Qiongzhusi Formation indicates that deposition occurred in continental slope and marginal marine environments associated with a continental arc tectonic system. These findings provide an essential basis for the comprehensive reconstruction of the early Cambrian sedimentary environment of the Yangtze Block.

The timing of Barleik Formation in Xinjiang, NW China, has not been constrained by accurate geochronology yet, while this work is of great significance to help reconstruct the geological tectonic evolution of Western Junggar. Based on the LA-ICP-MS U–Pb geochronology study, the weighted average age of magmatic zircons collected from the tuff in Barleik Formation, which reflects the formation age of the tuff, is 372 ± 2 Ma ( N = 57, mean square of weighted deviates (MSWD) = 1.15). The first report in this study of the zircon U–Pb dating result indicates that Barleik Formation along the West Junggar tectonic belt occurred in the Late Devonian rather than in the middle Devonian period as previously claimed. Meanwhile, chronology data and the geochemical features comparing with the Island Arc-related rocks in the adjacent area, as well as stratigraphic structural relationship, suggest that volcanic activities may exist in the Late Devonian, and the relevant volcanic ash deposited in the Barleik forearc basin may be derived from the adjacent island arc (current geographic coordinate). In addition, the fossil assemblage dominated by bathyal-abyssal invertebrate fossils and bathyal-abyssal facies indicates that the Barleik Formation is a bathyal-abyssal sedimentary environment.

To reduce the adverse effects of geological disasters on Nyingchi, this article selected nine highly correlated risk assessment factors for the types of geological disasters such as landslides and debris flows and used two methods of analytic hierarchy process and fuzzy analytic hierarchy process for analysis and comparison. The spatial overlay analysis of each factor with weight is carried out in ArcGIS to make a classification map of geological hazards in Nyingchi. Risk assessment of geological disasters such as collapses, landslides, and mudslides indicates that the slope, distance from the faults, and relative elevation difference of topography have severe impact on natural disasters; at least more than 60% of the areas belong to medium-, high-, and extremely high-risk areas, and it is urgent to strengthen protection and governance; the evaluation results of the fuzzy analytic hierarchy process are more in line with the actual survey situation and are more suitable for Tibet. This research is able to provide a basis for ecological protection, ecological restoration, and geological disaster prevention and management in southeastern Tibet. It also has important reference value for the coordinated development of urban and the environmental projects.

The objective of this study was to compare the growth using an organic fertilizer culture comprising wheat straw, mushroom residue or sawdust and dry dung, or plant growth-promoting microbes (PGPM) on the growth conditions and nutritional status of Elymus dahuricus to provide a set of feasible plans for the treatment and restoration of abandoned land exhibiting lower organic matter, calcification, and alkaline soil of the Qilianshan coal mine. Pot experiments were conducted on four groups to study the effect of the characteristics of nutrient absorption of E. dahuricus : (1) original soil with or without the addition of soil bacteria and compound bacteria (nitrobacteria and Pleurotus ), (2) different ratios of original soil mixed with different proportions of organic fertilizer, (3) different proportions of original soil mixed with different proportions of organic fertilizer and soil bacteria, and (4) different proportions of original soil mixed with different proportions of organic fertilizer and compound bacteria. Results showed that original soil supplemented with different PGPM, organic fertilizer treatment, and the organic fertilizer combined with different PGPMs was an obvious increase in the growth of E. dahuricus . In particular, 40% of organic fertilizers mixed with the compound bacteria (nitrobacteria and lateral bacteria) exhibited the best growth trend, significantly improving the soil nutrients, the growth of E. dahuricus , and the nutritional status, and providing a reliable scientific foundation for the treatment and restoration of the abandoned land of the Qilianshan coal mine.

Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) Web Services (OWS) are highly significant for geospatial data sharing and widely used in many scientific fields. However, those services are hard to find and utilize effectively. Focusing on addressing the big challenge of OWS resource discovery, we propose a measurement model that integrates spatiotemporal similarity and thematic similarity based on ontology semantics to generate a more efficient search method: OWS Geospatial Data Semantic Similarity Model (OGDSSM)-based search engine for semantically enabled geospatial data service discovery that takes into account the hierarchy difference of geospatial service documents and the number of map layers. We implemented the proposed OGDSSM-based semantic search algorithm on United States Geological Survey mineral resources geospatial service discovery. The results show that the proposed search method has better performance than the existing search engines that are based on keyword-based matching, such as Lucene, when recall, precision, and F-measure are taken into consideration. Furthermore, the returned results are ranked based on semantic similarity, which makes it easier for users to find the most similar geospatial data services. Our proposed method can thus enhance the performance of geospatial data service discovery for a wide range of geoscience applications.

The crustal structure beneath the United Arab Emirates (UAE) is still relatively unknown. Here, we use regional gravity data to constrain the subsurface density distribution and structure of the crust of the UAE by applying diverse gravity derivatives methods such as horizontal derivative (HDR), analytic signal (AS), and tilt angle (TA) to analyze the subsurface structure and perform three-dimensional (3D) gravity inversion for imaging crustal structure from the surface down to 35 km depth. The results are compared with known geological regional structures and the location of the petroleum fields. The Bouguer anomalies range from −100.8 to 113.5 mGal. The 3D gravity inversion results and the maximum Bouguer values coincide with the ophiolitic Hajar mountains in the east and the successive anticlines (uplifted basement rocks) and synclines in different parts of UAE, which could be promising sites for future mining and petroleum exploration. Also, the 3D density model results and the minimum Bouguer anomalies are located over the Aruma Basin, eastern UAE Platform, and Low Central UAE Platform, which can be the places for deep groundwater aquifers. These new results from HDR, AS, and TA successfully identify known geological structures, especially in the eastern part of UAE.

The integration of geophysical techniques with hydrological investigation is frequently used for solving different geological and environmental problems including groundwater quality and exploration and seismic vulnerability assessment. In this research, the shallow geophysical techniques comprising of electrical resistivity profiling, vertical electrical sounding, and ground magnetic were used to identify the contaminated areas lying in the upstream and downstream of Almisk Lake in Jeddah. The chemical analyses of water samples collected from the wells located in the downstream and upstream areas were used to support these results as an increase in the total dissolved solids (TDS) shows a decrease in the resistivity value. The results of geophysical techniques and hydrochemical analyses show that the TDS values are significantly higher in the upstream area of dam than those of the downstream, which suggests that the contaminating source is lying in the upstream of the reservoir. Moreover, the dam was not completely successful to block the contamination because of improper base. The hydrochemical analysis and geophysical results clearly indicate that the groundwater is not suitable for drinking and irrigation purposes.

Classification is the science that arranges organisms in groups according to their similarities and differences. In plant science, there are many aspects of classifications. For instance, there is morphological, anatomical, palynological, molecular, and chemical classification. All these types consume time, effort, and money. In this research, new technology is tested to identify the differences between plants. Spectroradiometer will help in classifying Prosopis juliflora (Sw.) DC in Bahrah region in Saudi Arabia. Spectroradiometer technology is applied to a sample of 40 taxa of P. juliflora in two different seasons. Within each sample site, measurements were taken at a high sun angle from 10:00 am to 2:00 pm. Results showed that spectroradiometer indicated the existence of significant differences among P. juliflora taxa. Correspondingly, the spectroradiometer engenders the spectral responses of the targeted species in the region between 400 and 2,500 nm wavelength. The spectral behavior of P. juliflora in four seasons was demonstrated as season dependent. The variance-based principal component analysis divided the investigated samples into two groups, either positively correlated or negatively correlated according to the seasonal data collection. Sample number 5 in the quantile’s slicing analysis maintained a stable behavior when it was exposed to 100% wavelength. P. juliflora behavior was stabilized in the infrared (IR) samples (4,5), the shortwave IR (SWIR) (3,4,5), and thermal IT (TIR) (3,4,5,6) at the quantile range of >75. While in the quantile range <25, we found the stability behavior in the IR samples (2,8,10), the SWIR (2,7,8,10), and in TIR (2,7,8,10). Therefore, this approved that the spectroradiometer is useful as the first classification process. More studies are needed to support this finding, such as chemical and molecular investigations.

The Upper Paleozoic coal measure strata in the Southern North China Basin have good potential for unconventional oil and gas exploration. However, there has been no systematic evaluation of potential source rock in this area; this affects the estimation of potential resources and the choice of exploratory target layers. In this study, full core holes ZK0901 and ZK0401, which perfectly reveal Upper Paleozoic strata in the study area, systematically collected and analyzed the samples for total organic carbon, rock pyrolysis, chloroform bitumen “A,” organic maceral, vitrinite reflectance, and kerogen carbon isotopes. The results showed that in addition to coal rocks, mudstones and carbonate rocks are also potential source rocks in the Upper Paleozoic strata. Vertically, the source rocks are continuous in Taiyuan Formation, the lower part of Shanxi Formation, and Lower Shihezi Formation. The organic matter type in the Upper Paleozoic coal rocks and mudstone source rock belong to type III or II. This phenomenon is mainly attributed to the special transgressive–regressive sedimentary environment of the carbonate rocks. The higher degree of thermal evolution in the Upper Paleozoic source rocks may be related to the structure or a higher paleogeothermal gradient in this area. The coal layer and its upper and lower mudstone of the Shanxi Formation and Lower Shihezi Formation are the main target layers of unconventional oil and gas exploration. The results from this study can be used as a reference for the study on potential source rock for unconventional oil and gas exploration in the Southern North China Basin.

Wetlands played an important role in human development and nature nutrient store for rice cultivation. Spatial techniques have gained importance in monitoring wetland changes. The study aimed to assess wetland soils for rice production using spatial techniques. The area was sample using stratified grid sampling. Nutrient availability and rice suitability were assessed in ArcGIS 10.6 environment. The soil was characterized into Eutric fluvaquent (Soil Survey Staff, 2010) and correlated as fluvisols in the World Reference Base system. The results of the land cover changes showed that built-up, waterbody, and farmland have increased by 39, 18, and 29%, respectively, and 13% decrease was observed in vegetation. The study concluded that soils of the studied area varied from marginally (75%), not suitable (20%), and permanently not suitable (5%) for rice production. Therefore, without proper assessment and management of these studied soils, rice production will continue to be futile.

The reliable quantification of daily evapotranspiration (ET) over vast croplands is a quest in many scholarly works aimed at the precise practice of water resources management. Remote sensing–based empirical and nonempirical models were developed to overcome large-scale quantification issues, which are usually experienced when using conventional approaches for the estimation of ET. The surface energy balance system (SEBS) model was used to quantify the daily ET in the arid/semi-arid over Wadi Ad-Dwaser, Saudi. SEBS input variables are parametrically sensitive and climatic dependent, and the model input/output dependencies are of high comprehensibility; therefore, the optimization analysis of SEBS input/output parameters is the target of the current research. SEBS inputs reciprocal inconsistencies were determined using the artificial neural network analysis, while the output dependencies on the daily ET estimation were mapped. Results demonstrated that the temperature and relative humidity are the most sensitive parameters to be considered in the routine crop monitoring procedure. SEBS output thematic maps showed the robust proportional correlation between the daily ET and the conducted temperature map. Moreover, the estimated daily ET was inversely correlated with the estimated cold sensible heat fluxes. The findings suggest systematic monitoring and forecasting procedures for efficient water-saving management plans in Saudi Arabia.

Mapping the subsurface in slope stability analysis of disposal areas is difficult, especially the disposal layering materials that are assumed to be homogeneous instead of their real conditions. Moreover, the hoarding activities on high slope form layers based on the nature of the rock mechanics with large materials or boulders rolling down to the toe of the slope, while small ones are held at the top. Each layer formed, however, has certain geotechnical characteristics. The aim of this study is to determine the profiling of disposal material using a geoelectrical method known as Wenner–Schlumberger configuration with a line length of 450 m and also to find the resistivity value for mine waste materials based on an empirical number, which is a number that is obtained from the result reading compared to the actual condition in the field. The study was conducted on an in-pit dump with an estimated height of 150 m and a thickness of 50 m, and the data obtained were processed using RES2DINV software. The results showed that the subsurface cross-section has three layers consisting of bedrock with a resistivity of 50–70 Ωm, contact zone with 30–50 Ωm, and disposal material layer with 1–30 Ωm, which can be used for the slope stability analysis. This concept is very helpful for the geotechnical analysis on high mine waste dumps or sloping basement zone. This study focuses on the resistivity value for waste dump materials, which has not been clearly mentioned in the previous studies.

Remote-sensing satellite images provided rapid and continuous spectral and spatial information of the land surface in the Sougia River catchment by identifying the major changes that have taken place over 20 years (1995–2015). Vegetation indices (VIs) of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI), enhanced vegetation index (EVI) and leaf area index were derived for monitoring and mapping variations in vegetation cover. The quantified decrease in NDVI was found to be 4% between 1995 and 2005, and further decreased by 77.1% between 2005 and 2015; it declined back to almost the initial status of 1995. EVI results were inconsistent suggesting that seasonal crops influence the temporal distribution of vegetation cover. The temporal variations in the VIs were important input parameters for the modelling and management of the catchment’s hydrological behaviour. Image classification found that the 4- and the 6-class classifications between 1995 and 2005 were unstable and produced, respectively, a 13.8% and 16.2% total change between classes. Meanwhile, the 8-, 10- and the 12-class showed an almost horizontal line with a minor fluctuation of less than 0.05%. The results of the post-classification change detection analysis indicated a land degradation in terms of natural vegetation losses with sparser or even with no natural vegetation cover.

Bodovalle is an iron carbonate mine located in Gallarta (near Bilbao, northern Spain), which is currently in the closure stage. The deposit was first exploited as an open-pit mine and later as an underground mine. The underground mine currently has 40 large rooms with rib pillars, occupying an area of 2,000 m long by 600 m wide. Room depth is around 200 m. The main geotechnical incident occurred in the NW1N zone, where an over-exploited rib pillar in poor condition was partially removed, leaving a 70-m roof span that eventually collapsed in 1999, resulting in a surface crater measuring 60 m in diameter. The collapse was preceded by noises and movements detected outside the mine. The subsidence was improved by means of infilling and monitoring. In 2014, residents living in homes built over the abandoned mine rooms detected very loud noises similar to those of 1999. The article describes a stability review carried out using advanced numerical methods (finite element method and boundary element method) and the geomechanical parameters obtained from a back analysis of the 1999 collapse.

The Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) was used to simulate monthly runoff in the Yarmouk River Basin (YRB). The objectives were to assess the performance of this model in simulating the hydrological responses in arid watersheds then utilized to study the impact of YRB agricultural development project on transport of sediments in the YRB. Nine and three years of input data, namely from 2005 to 2013, were used to calibrate the model, whereas data from 2014 to 2015 were used for model validation. Time series plots as well as statistical measures, including the coefficient of determination ( R 2 ) and the Nash–Sutcliffe coefficient of efficiency (NSE) that range between 0 to 1 and −∞ to 1, respectively, between observed and simulated monthly runoff values were used to verify the SWAT simulation capability for the YRB. The SWAT model satisfactorily predicted mean monthly runoff values in the calibration and validation periods, as indicated by R 2 = 0.95 and NSE = 0.96 and R 2 = 0.91 and NSE = 0.63, respectively. The study confirmed the positive impact of soil conservation measures implemented in the YRB development project and confirmed that contouring can reduce soil loss from 15 to 44% during the study period. This study showed that the SWAT model was capable of simulating hydrologic components in the drylands of Jordan.

High field-strength elements have been regarded as one of the most important discriminations in subduction zone magma. However, the spatial distribution of Nb and Ta in subduction zone-related rocks has been rarely studied; it is still unclear whether there is a quantitative relationship between the Nb–Ta concentrations and their subduction distance. In this paper, the Nb–Ta concentrations of mafic rocks in arc tectonic systems were calculated from a statistical perspective based on the combined geophysical model and geochemical database. The results showed a typical spatial distribution pattern. The threshold value of Nb (12.20 ppm) and Ta (0.796 ppm) in arc settings was estimated by a cumulative distribution function, which can be used to determine whether the rock is generated in arc tectonic environment. A probability density function of Nb–Ta contents and related subduction distance has been obtained using kernel function estimation. The Nb–Ta concentrations are exponentially correlated with the subduction distance (<700 km), while the Nb/Ta ratios keep in the range of 12–19. We proposed that the subduction depth, along with the degree of partial melting, and possible crustal contamination might be responsible for the Nb–Ta variation correlation with subduction distances.

Ensemble hydrologic forecasting which takes advantages of multiple hydrologic models has made much contribution to water resource management. In this study, four hydrological models (the Xin’anjiang model (XAJ), Simhyd, GR4J, and artificial neural network (ANN) models) and three ensemble methods (the simple average, black box-based, and binomial-based methods) were applied and compared to simulate the hydrological process during 1979–1983 in three representative catchments (Daixi, Hengtangcun, and Qiaodongcun). The results indicate that for a single model, the XAJ model and the GR4J model performed relatively well with averaged Nash and Sutcliffe efficiency coefficient (NSE) values of 0.78 and 0.83, respectively. For the ensemble models, the results show that the binomial-based ensemble method (dynamic weight) outperformed with water volume error reduced by 0.8% and NSE value increased by 0.218. The best performance on runoff forecasting occurs in the Hengtang catchment by integrating four hydrologic models based on binomial ensemble method, achieving the water volume error of 2.73% and NSE value of 0.923. Finding would provide scientific support to water engineering design and water resources management in the study areas.

The red edge band is considered as one of the diagnosable characteristics of green plants, but the large-scale remote sensing retrieval of fractional vegetation coverage (FVC) based on the red edge band is still rare. To explore the application of the red edge band in the remote sensing estimation of FVC, this study proposed a new vegetation index (normalized difference red edge index, RENDVI) based on the two red edge bands of Chinese GaoFen-6 satellite (GF-6). The FVC estimated by using three vegetation indices (NDVI, RENDVI 1 , and RENDVI 2 ) were evaluated based on the field survey FVC obtained in Minqin Basin of Gansu Province. The results showed that there was a good linear correlation between the FVC estimated by GF-6 WFV data and the FVC investigated in the field, and the most reasonable estimation of FVC was obtained based on RENDVI 2 model ( R 2 = 0.97611 and RMSE = 0.07075). Meanwhile, the impact of three confidence levels (1, 2, and 5%) on FVC was also analyzed in this study. FVC obtained from NDVI and RENDVI 2 has the highest accuracy at 2% confidence, while FVC based on RENDVI 1 achieved the best accuracy at 5% confidence. It could be concluded that it is feasible and reliable to estimate FVC based on red edge bands, and the GF-6 Wide Field View (WFV) data with high temporal and spatial resolution provide a new data source for remote sensing estimation of FVC.

Soil salinization is a ubiquitous global problem. The literature supports the integration of remote sensing (RS) techniques and field measurements as effective methods for developing soil salinity prediction models. The objectives of this study were to (i) estimate the level of soil salinity in Abu Dhabi using spectral indices and field measurements and (ii) develop a model for detecting and mapping soil salinity variations in the study area using RS data. We integrated Landsat 8 data with the electrical conductivity measurements of soil samples taken from the study area. Statistical analysis of the integrated data showed that the normalized difference vegetation index and bare soil index showed moderate correlations among the examined indices. The relation between these two indices can contribute to the development of successful soil salinity prediction models. Results show that 31% of the soil in the study area is moderately saline and 46% of the soil is highly saline. The results support that geoinformatic techniques using RS data and technologies constitute an effective tool for detecting soil salinity by modeling and mapping the spatial distribution of saline soils. Furthermore, we observed a low correlation between soil salinity and the nighttime land surface temperature.

We integrated hyperspectral and field-measured chlorophyll-a (Chl-a) data from the Kristalbad constructed wetland in the Netherlands. We developed a best-fit band ratio empirical algorithm to generate a distribution map of Chl-a concentration ( C chla ) from SPOT 6 imagery. The C chla retrieved from remote sensing was compared with a water quality model established for a wetland pond system. The retrieved satellite results were combined with a water quality model to simulate and predict the changes in phytoplankton levels. The regression model provides good retrievals for Chl-a. The imagery-derived C chla performed well in calibrating the simulation results. For each pond, the modeled C chla showed a range of values similar to the Chl-a data derived from SPOT 6 imagery (10–25 mg m −3 ). The imagery-derived and prediction model results could be used as the guiding analytical tools to provide information covering an entire study area and to inform policies.

Urban vitality is a spatial phenomenon and a public service. Previous studies often did not measure the fairness of the accessibility of urban vitality. This research analyzed the spatial distribution of urban vitality in Wuhan as a case study area using big data from multiple sources. The study used the two-step floating catchment area method (2SFCA) to measure the accessibility level of each residential district to the vibrant zones (VZs). Furthermore, the inequality in the level of accessibility of residential areas with different housing prices was assessed on the basis of the Gini coefficient. The main conclusions are as follows: (1) the Gini coefficient of reaching the accessibility level of high-grade VZs is 0.426, and the corresponding sub-high-grade Gini coefficient is 0.274. This shows that the inequality in accessibility of different residential areas is more obvious as the level of vitality is higher and (2) residential areas with high housing prices have greater accessibility than those areas with low housing prices. It was also noticed that the level of accessibility and fairness in vitality is generally higher in central urban areas than in suburban areas. The Gini coefficient of high-grade vitality is generally higher than that of sub-high-grade. The results of this study provide a reference for researching the accessibility level of urban vitality, which considers the needs of population, and can also provide guidelines in urban planning regarding the allocation of services and resources.

The geothermal gradient in the eastern area of Liaoning Province is very low, but hot springs resources are variable. The reason is not clear till now but leads to the fact that a few strong influence factors can cause imbalances in the results of many prediction algorithms. It can be found as a black-box algorithm, deep learning will obtain a more unbalanced result with the fault influence factors. To tackle this issue, the role of preprocessing during the process of profound learning was enhanced and four comparative experiments were carried out. The results show that compared with the unprocessed experiment, the accuracy rate of the experiment with fully processed data increased by 11.9 p.p., and the area under the curve increased by 0.086 (0.796–0.882). This inspires us that even though the deep learning method can achieve high accuracy in the prediction of geological resources, we still need to pay attention to the analysis and pretreatment of data with expertise according to local conditions.

Airborne light detection and ranging (LiDAR) and unmanned aerial vehicle structure from motion (UAV-SfM) are two major methods used to produce digital surface models (DSMs) for geomorphological studies. Previous studies have used both types of DSM datasets interchangeably and ignored their differences, whereas others have attempted to locally compare these differences. However, few studies have quantified these differences for different land cover types. Therefore, we simultaneously compared the two DSMs using airborne LiDAR and UAV-SfM for three land cover types (i.e. forest, wasteland, and bare land) in northeast China. Our results showed that the differences between the DSMs were the greatest for forest areas. Further, the average elevation of the UAV-SfM DSM was 0.4 m lower than that of the LiDAR DSM, with a 95th percentile difference of 3.62 m for the forest areas. Additionally, the average elevations of the SfM DSM for wasteland and bare land were 0.16 and 0.43 m lower, respectively, than those of the airborne LiDAR DSM; the 95th percentile differences were 0.67 and 0.64 m, respectively. The differences between the two DSMs were generally minor over areas with sparse vegetation and more significant for areas covered by tall dense trees. The findings of this research can guide the joint use of different types of DSMs in certain applications, such as land management and soil erosion studies. A comparison of the DSM types in complex terrains should be explored in the future.

Paleoenvironmental research is critical for understanding delta evolution processes and managing delta sustainability, particularly for delta experiencing significant recent fluvial sediment discharge. Based on other previously reported optically stimulated luminescence (OSL) data, Holocene environmental changes of the Yangtze River delta in response to climate fluctuations and human activities were reviewed on the basis of grain-size analyses of core YZ07. The results of grain-size and end-member analysis (EMA) provide a detailed history of East Asian monsoon variability and environmental changes since ∼10,000 cal year B.P. The lower median values (Md) and sand content reflect relatively cool and dry climate conditions between 10,000 and 9,570 cal year B.P. During the early Holocene (9,570–7,630 cal year B.P.), the highest Md values and sand contents and the lowest end member 2 (EM2) contents suggest the Holocene transgression. The increased Md values and sand contents indicate that the climate conditions were warm and wet during the mid-Holocene thermal optimum. From 4,690 to 4,150 cal year B.P., the climate was cool and dry, corresponding to the cool event, as indicated by the finer grain size. Subsequently, between 4,150 and 2,850 cal year B.P., the grain size derived from the Md value and sand content increased, which reflect a wet and warm episode. The climate, which shifted from warm and wet to cool and dry between 2,850 and 1,020 cal year B.P., may have caused a reduction in the sand contents and Md values. After 1,020 cal year B.P., the lowest values of Md and Standard deviation (Sd) and the highest contents of EM2 and clay suggest that the Yangtze River delta has been severely affected by anthropogenic activity. The variability of the East Asian monsoon intensity in the Yangtze River delta strongly correlates with other East Asian monsoon paleoclimate records in China. These results are important for investigations into the interactions between regional systems and global change in monsoonal climatic regions and can provide an example of the evolution of a large scale geomorphic feature resulting from river-sea interaction.

Nari Formation is considered as one of the most important oil and gas exploration targets. These fine-grained tight sandstone reservoirs face enormous challenges due to their extremely low matrix porosity and permeability. Hence, in this regard, the study was carried out to collect the high-quality data on petrophysical properties along with mineralogy and microstructural characteristics and diagenesis. The experiments performed includes the petrographic study and scanning electron microscopy, and X-ray diffraction analyses. Besides, the measurement of petrophysical properties was carried out to assess the likely influence of the reservoir quality. The petrographic analysis shows predominantly fine- to medium-grained grey samples along with calcite, clay, lithic fragments and iron oxides. Further, the thin-section observations revealed that the quartz is a principal mineral component in all the analysed samples ranging from 52.2 to 92.9%. The bulk volume of clay minerals that range from 5.3 to 16.1% of. The porosity and permeability measured range from 5.08 to 18.56% (average 7.22%) and from 0.0152 to 377 mD (average 0.25 mD), respectively. The main diagenetic processes that affected the sandstones of Nari Formation are mechanical compaction, grain deformation, cementation and quartz dissolution and have played a significant role in influencing the quality of the reservoir rock. Overall, it appears that the primary petrophysical properties (porosity and permeability) were decreased due to the mechanical compaction, lithification, cementation, and framework grain dissolution. Based on the integrated mineralogical, microstructural analysis, and the laboratory-based petrophysical properties, the samples exhibited poor porosity, permeability, and moderate clay content, which indicate that the Nari Formation is a poor quality reservoir.

The general assumption of linear variation of earth pressures with depth on retaining structures is still controversial; investigations are yet required to determine those distributions of the passive earth pressure (PEP) accurately and deduce the corresponding centroid location. In particular, for rigid retaining walls, the calculation of PEP is strongly dependent on the type of wall movement. This paper presents a numerical analysis for studying the influence of wall movement on the PEP distribution on a rigid retaining wall and the passive earth thrust location. The numerical predictions are remarkably similar to existing experimental works as recorded on scaled test models and full-scale retaining walls. It is observed that the PEP varies linearly with depth for the horizontal translation, but it is nonlinear when the movement is rotational about the top of the retaining wall. When rotation is around the top of the wall, the resultant of PEP is located at a depth that varies between 0.164 and 0.259 H of the wall height measured from the base of the wall, which is lesser than 1/3 of the wall height. The passive earth thrust location is highly affected by the soil–wall friction angle, especially when the friction angle of the backfill material increases. Despite the herein presented results, further experiments are recommended to assess the corresponding numerical predictions.

The ecological risks of six toxic metals (Zn, Cu, Cr, Pb, Hg, and As) in the industrial zone on the northern slope of the East Tianshan Mountains in Xinjiang, northwest (NW) China, were assessed. The results showed that the soil toxic metal contents of Zn, Pb, Hg, and As exceeded the regional background values, and concentrations of Zn, Cu, Pb, and As exceeded the national soil environmental quality standards of China (GB15618-1995). The Cu and Cr contamination levels were lower than the limits of both soil standards and mainly originated from the parent material, Pb mainly originated from agricultural activity and traffic emissions, and Hg mainly originated from the coal burning and chemical industries. As contamination originated from automobile exhaust emissions, and Zn contamination was influenced by a combination of natural factors and human activities. The mean geo-accumulation index ( I geo ) values of As, Hg, and Pb ranged from unpolluted to moderately polluted. There was an area not polluted by Zn, Cu, and Cr. The pollution index (PI) value of the six heavy metals showed that the mean PI values of Zn, Cr, and Cu showed no pollution, As and Pb presented medium pollution, and Hg presented heavy pollution. The results of the potential ecological risk analysis in this region showed that Zn, Cu, Cr, and Pb in all sample sites presented a low risk, while Hg presented a high ecological risk. Therefore, it is necessary to prevent further Hg contamination in this region.

Traditional seasonal color matching methods of ornamental plants only study the color attributes of plants, but not through qualitative and quantitative research on seasonal color matching of plants, resulting in imperfect matching methods. Five landscape units were selected from five representative streets in Harbin, namely, Central Avenue, Gogoli, Zhongshan Road, Xinyang Road, and Huanghe Road. Seasonal periods of Harbin from 2014 to 2018 were defined using the difference in seasonal time division and duration characteristics by the method of climate temperature division, and the beginning time of each season in 2019 was deduced. Meanwhile, according to the NCS color value data of each species in different seasons and the length of each season, the seasonal color matching results of each landscape unit case were established. The results of seasonal color matching of each landscape unit case were evaluated by weighted method. The results showed that the richer the NCS color value of plant species ornamental traits in plant landscape, the more the color seasonal encounter of ornamental traits and the longer the duration, the better the matching results of plant seasonal color. Based on the research results, the NCS color value and its ornamental period of ornamental characters of plant species, the color matching scheme of landscape color, and the selection of plant species were proposed.

The northern Guizhou area, located near the southwestern margin of the Yangtze Block, is a promising area for shale gas exploration and development. The Lower Silurian Shiniulan Formation as a new discovery stratum of natural gas marks an exciting breakthrough in natural gas exploration in northern Guizhou area. Based on several field investigations and samples analyses, the lithology and fracture characteristics were systematically analyzed in the lower Shiniulan Formation, and the reservoir specificity and its influence on natural gas accumulation were determined. The characteristics of the relatively fractures and lithology assemblages were identified as key factors controlling the natural gas accumulation. The lower Shiniulan Formation is deposited as calcareous shale and marlstone with frequent centimeter-scale interlayers. This is reflective of a shallow sea shelf strata with decreasing sedimentary rhythm and gradual weakening of sedimentary changes and developed calcareous shale and marlstone with frequent centimeter scale interlayer changes. The gas reservoir is dominated by calcareous mudstone, controlled by the interbedded rock association (calcareous mudstone and limestone), characterized by the raw-storage and the accumulation-reservoir interbedded system. The reservoir is located in the central part of the syncline and is characterized by strong sealing of the stratum, large proportion of free gas, and high abnormal pressure. The Lower Shiniulan Formation is formed between the shale layer with horizontal fractures and dense limestone with underdeveloped fractures. Among them, the shale section generally develops diagenetic shrinkage fractures, which provide good storage space for natural gas and act as the main body of natural gas. The pore sizes in limestone (2.8 nm) are significantly smaller than those in mudstone (7.5 nm), which results in a good capping and preservation of shale gas. This paper reports on results that are of significance for supplementing the theory of unconventional natural gas accumulation and guiding shale gas exploration in similar areas.

The Manas River Basin (MRB), Northwest China, is an arid basin dependent on irrigation for agriculture, and human activities are believed to be the primary factor affecting the groundwater level fluctuations in this basin. Such fluctuations can have a significant adverse impact on the social economy, agricultural development, and natural environment of that region. This raises concerns regarding the sustainability of groundwater use. In this study, we used ArcGIS spatial interpolation and contrast coefficient variance analysis to analyse groundwater level, land-use change, and water resource consumption patterns from 2012 to 2019 in the plains of the MRB. The aim was to determine the main factors influencing the groundwater level and to provide a scientific basis for the rational development, utilisation, and management of water resources in this area. During the study period, the groundwater level decreased, increased, and then fluctuated with a gradually slowing downward trend; the decline ranged from −17.82 to −11.67 m during 2012–2019. Within a given year, groundwater levels declined from March/April to August/September, then rose from August/September to March/April, within a range of 0.29–19.05 m. Primary factors influencing the groundwater level included human activities (e.g., changes in land use, river regulation, irrigation, and groundwater exploitation) and natural causes (e.g., climate and weather anomalies). Human activities were the primary factors affecting groundwater level, especially land-use change and water resource consumption. These results provide a theoretical basis for the rational exploitation of groundwater and the optimisation of water resource management in this region.

This paper points out the possibilities of better exploitation of marine traffic as well as its connection with other kinds of traffic. Special attention is given to the analysis of 1,081 harbors about their availability during the year. The methods and algorithms used in GIS are buffers, cluster, method of interpolations, and network analysis. The methods used for the purpose of conducting numerical analyses are algorithms that served for the analysis of the network, its transport features, and the connectivity with harbors in terms of geospace. The main results found in this research showed that harbors have good connectivity in the first place with road traffic and after that with air and railroad traffic. According to data from 2019, all traffic lines cover 4.1 × 10 15  km, and the road traffic has the most significant potential in connection with the harbors. The most connected harbors and airports are in the east coast of North America, west coast, north Europe, southern Europe, south-east Australia, a central part of Oceania, and south-east Africa. The results in the modified Likert scale between airports and harbors showed medium results. The densest road network is located in the eastern part of USA, western and central part of Europe, and east coast of China. The number of possible connected lines between main road nodes and harbors is 0.8 × 10 9 . This type of traffic showed excellent results and connection with harbors. The number of possible connected lines per month between railroads and harbors is 1.3 × 10 3 . This type of traffic showed low connectivity with the harbors. In the end comparison of harbors with air, road and railroad networks were established. The geographical position of harbors was analyzed, and better understanding was performed on a global scale.

Plain reservoir plays an important role in alleviating water shortage in plain areas which are generally crowded with large populations. As an effective and cheap anti-seepage measure, geomembrane is widely applied in plain reservoirs. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the seepage discharge caused by composite geomembrane leakage. The laboratory test and numerical calculation are carried out in this paper to analyze the influence of three factors (i.e., water head, leakage size, and leakage location) on seepage discharge. It is found from the results of the orthogonal and single-factor analysis that the impact order of the three factors on the seepage discharge of plain reservoir is: distance from dam toe > water head > leakage size. Moreover, the seepage discharge increases as the water head, leakage size, and leakage quantity increase, in a linear relation. The opposite trend can be sawed in the seepage discharge when the distance from dam toe rises. Furthermore, a threshold distance is innovatively presented based on the results of numerical analysis. The ranking of three factors has enlightening significance for future scholars to track and study key issues of the leakage of composite geomembrane. The threshold distance presented in this paper is beneficial for engineers to manage and maintain the reservoir. Generally, the findings of this study can be beneficial to deepen the understanding of the influence of composite geomembrane leakage on the plain reservoirs.

The analysis of structural deformation characteristics in the Lower Yangtze area of South China is of great significance to petroleum exploration and development in this area. Based on the geological and geophysical data, the structural deformation characteristics of the Lower Yangtze area are systematically discussed. Structural physical simulation experiments are further conducted to model the typical structural deformation systems and to discuss their dynamic mechanism. The results show that the hedging system is characterized by “asymmetric opposite hedging in the south and north” of the study area. The structural deformation on the northwest of the hedging system mainly occurred in the Middle-Late Triassic and was controlled by southeaster compression in the Indo-Chinese Period. The deformation of southeastern side of the hedging system mainly occurred in Middle-Late Jurassic and was controlled by northwester strong compression in the early period of the Yanshanian Movement. According to the development and evolution sequence of the hedging structure system in the Lower Yangtze area, Wuxi area has weak structural deformation and has not undergone intensive transformation in later periods. Also, the other factors of petroleum accumulation, including the source rock, reservoir, and sealing conditions, are superior, which make a potential area for exploration.

The mid-lower reaches of the Hanjiang River Basin, located in the core of economic development in Hubei Province, is an integral part of the Yangtze River Economic Belt. In recent years, the watershed ecosystem has become more sensitive to climate changes and human activities, thus affecting the regional vegetation cover. To maintain a stable watershed ecosystem, it is critical to analyze and evaluate the vegetation change and its response to temperature, precipitation, and human activities in this region. This study, based on the trend analysis, partial correlation analysis, and residual analysis, evaluated the change characteristics of vegetation cover as well as the corresponding driving factors in the basin from 2001 to 2015. The results showed that (1) the overall spatial pattern of vegetation cover in the study area was “high in the west and north, lower on both sides of Hanjiang River, and lowest in the center and southeast,” and the pattern changed parabolically with the increasing elevation. (2) Over the 15 years, vegetation cover in the basin showed an increasing trend, and the increased and decreased areas were 90.72 and 9.23%, respectively. (3) The response of vegetation cover to climatic factors varies greatly depending on the increasing elevation. That is, the lag effect under the impact of temperature disappeared gradually, while it became more evident under the impact of precipitation. (4) On the whole, human activities had a positive effect on the regional vegetation cover. The negative effect in the areas around the Nanyang Basin and the positive effect in most parts of the Jianghan Plain were gradually decreased.

Various means of extracting road boundary from mobile laser scanning data based on vehicle trajectories have been investigated. Independent of positioning and navigation data, this study estimated the scanner ground track from the spatial distribution of the point cloud as an indicator of road location. We defined a typical edge block consisting of multiple continuous upward fluctuating points by abrupt changes in elevation, upward slope, and road horizontal slope. Subsequently, such edge blocks were searched for on both sides of the estimated track. A pseudo-mileage spacing map was constructed to reflect the variation in spacing between the track and edge blocks over distance, within which road boundary points were detected using a simple linear tracking model. Experimental results demonstrate that the ground trajectory of the extracted scanner forms a smooth and continuous string just on the road; this can serve as the basis for defining edge block and road boundary tracking algorithms. The defined edge block has been experimentally verified as highly accurate and strongly noise resistant, while the boundary tracking algorithm is simple, fast, and independent of the road boundary model used. The correct detection rate of the road boundary in two experimental data is more than 99.2%.

The correct individual tree segmentation of the forest is necessary for extracting the additional information of trees, such as tree height, crown width, and other tree parameters. With the development of LiDAR technology, the research method of individual tree segmentation based on point cloud data has become a focus of the research community. In this work, the research area is located in an underground coal mine in Shenmu City, Shaanxi Province, China. Vegetation information with and without leaves in this coal mining area are obtained with airborne LiDAR to conduct the research. In this study, we propose hybrid clustering technique by combining DBSCAN and K-means for segmenting individual trees based on airborne LiDAR point cloud data. First, the point cloud data are processed for denoising and filtering. Then, the pre-processed data are projected to the XOY plane for DBSCAN clustering. The number and coordinates of clustering centers are obtained, which are used as an input for K-means clustering algorithm. Finally, the results of individual tree segmentation of the forest in the mining area are obtained. The simulation results and analysis show that the new method proposed in this paper outperforms other methods in forest segmentation in mining area. This provides effective technical support and data reference for the study of forest in mining areas.

With the advancement of China’s economy and the acceleration of urbanization, the conservation and sustainable development of historical architectural heritage has become the focus of the current and future society. However, there are still many deficiencies in the conservation and development of modern architectural cultural heritage. Due to the scattered distribution of heritage space and the lack of overall planning in the process of conservation and development, there are some problems, such as uneven development in various regions, insufficient integration of resources, serious destruction of cultural heritage, and so on. This article takes the modern historical and cultural heritage of the Dabie Mountains as the research object and integrates its resources according to different types with the Geographical Information System platform to establish the historical heritage basic database. Data attributes are analyzed through dot density, traffic accessibility, and other spatial elements, whose results are used to evaluate the conservation and utilization status of the regional historical heritage. On that basis, combined with the distribution characteristics of historical resources, this article puts forward the conservation planning scheme based on the level and focus, and the sustainable development structure of group development and linkage development, so as to realize the transformation from section conservation to sustainable development. It also presents new ideas and technical methods for historical heritage conservation and sustainable development of the Dabie Mountains.

This article analyzes the stress fields in the Qaidam Basin since the entire Cenozoic using finite element numerical simulations. The stress fields are investigated by analyzing tectonic joints and the GPS velocity field in the basin. The relationship between the stress field patterns and the tectonic activity of the basin was discussed. Based on previous research on the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, five stages of the tectonic evolution of the Qaidam Basin are modeled. The simulation results show that the stress trajectories in the Oligocence and the Pliocene–Quaternary were similar. In the Oligocence, the stress trajectories in the basin changed significantly and were mainly controlled by the compressional stress on the southern boundary in the initial stage. As the compressional stress on the northern boundary of the basin gradually increased, the compressional stress on the southern and northern boundaries had equal effects in the intermediate stage, and the compressional stress on the northern boundary mainly controlled the stress trajectories in the late stage. During the uplift of the Tibetan Plateau, the stress trajectories in the Qaidam Basin experienced an apparent reversal. The stress trajectories of the internal basin rotated clockwise from NE–SW to NW–SE in the Oligocence and which gradually changed to counterclockwise from NW–SE to NE–SW in the Miocene and recovered to clockwise from NE–SW to NW–SE in the Pliocene–Quaternary.

The stratigraphy of the Ecca Group has been subdivided into the Prince Albert, Whitehill, Collingham, Ripon, and Fort Brown Formations in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. In this article, we present detailed stratigraphic and facies analyses of borehole data and road-cut exposures of the Ecca Group along regional roads R67 (Ecca Pass), R344 (Grahamstown-Adelaide), R350 (Kirkwood-Somerset East), and national roads N2 (Grahamstown-Peddie) and N10 (Paterson-Cookhouse). Facies analysis of the Ecca Group in the study area was performed to deduce their depositional environments. Based on the lithological and facies characteristics, the stratigraphy of the Prince Albert, Whitehill, Collingham, and Fort Brown Formations is now subdivided into two informal members each, while the Ripon Formation is subdivided into three members. A total of twelve lithofacies were identified in the Ecca Group and were further grouped into seven distinct facies associations (FAs), namely: Laminated to thin-bedded black-greyish shale and mudstones (FA 1); Laminated black-greyish shale and interbedded chert (FA 2); Mudstone rhythmite and thin beds of tuff alternation (FA 3); Thin to thick-bedded sandstone and mudstone intercalation (FA 4); Medium to thick-bedded dark-grey shale (FA 5); Alternated thin to medium-bedded sandstone and mudstone (FA 6); and Varved mudstone rhythmite and sandstone intercalation (FA 7). The FAs revealed gradually change of sea-level from deep marine (FA 1, FA 2, FA 3 and FA 4, FA 5, and FA 6) to prodelta environment (FA 7). This implies that the main Karoo Basin was gradually filling up with Ecca sediments, resulting in the gradual shallowing up of the water depth of the depositional basin.

Remote sensing (RS) water depth inversion is an important technology and the method of water depth measurement. Taking the waters around the islands outside the Pearl River Estuary as an example, five optical RS depth inversion algorithms were introduced. Then, five water depth inversion models were trained through the HJ-1B satellite RS image and the measured water depth data. The results show that the mean absolute error (MAE) of the deep learning model was the smallest (2.350 m), and that the distribution of predicted water depth points was closest to the actual value. Deep learning has been widely used in RS image classification and recognition and shows its advantages. Therefore, the deep learning model was applied to extract the depth of the shallow water. Meanwhile, the obtained inversion effect map is closest to the actual contour map. The water depth inversion performance of back propagation neural network model is better than that of the radial basis function (RBF) neural network model. Besides, the inversion accuracy of the RBF neural network may be affected due to the small amount of data and the improper number of hidden neurons. The results show broad application prospects of machine learning algorithms in RS water depth inversion. Also, this study provided data support for model optimization, training, and parameter setting.

Understanding the risk of grassland fire occurrence associated with historical fire point events is critical for implementing effective management of grasslands. This may require a model to convert the fire point records into continuous spatial distribution data. Kernel density estimation (KDE) can be used to represent the spatial distribution of grassland fire occurrences and decrease the influences historical records in point format with inaccurate positions. The bandwidth is the most important parameter because it dominates the amount of variation in the estimation of KDE. In this study, the spatial distribution characteristic of the points was considered to determine the bandwidth of KDE with the Ripley’s K function method. With high, medium, and low concentration scenes of grassland fire points, kernel density surfaces were produced by using the kernel function with four bandwidth parameter selection methods. For acquiring the best maps, the estimated density surfaces were compared by mean integrated squared error methods. The results show that Ripley’s K function method is the best bandwidth selection method for mapping and analyzing the risk of grassland fire occurrence with the dependent or inaccurate point variable, considering the spatial distribution characteristics. Graphical abstract

The increase of sulfide (S 2− ) during the water flooding process has been regarded as an essential and potential risk for oilfield development and safety. Kriging and stochastic simulations are common methods for assessing the element distribution. However, these traditional simulation methods are not able to predict the continuous changes of underground S 2− distribution in the time domain by limited known information directly. This study is a kind of attempt to combine stochastic simulation and the modified probabilistic neural network (modified PNN) for simulating short-term changes of S 2− concentration. The proposed modified PNN constructs the connection between multiple indirect datasets and S 2− concentration at sampling points. These connections, which are treated as indirect data in the stochastic simulation processes, is able to provide extra supports for changing the probability density function (PDF) and enhancing the stability of the simulation. In addition, the simulation process can be controlled by multiple constraints due to which the simulating target has been changed into the increment distribution of S 2− . The actual data test provides S 2− distributions in an oil field with good continuity and accuracy, which demonstrate the outstanding capability of this novel method.

The exploration of the origin of hot spring is the basis of its development and utilization. There are many low-medium temperature hot springs in Nanjing and its surrounding karst landform areas, such as the Tangshan, Tangquan, Lunshan, and Xiangquan hot springs. This article discusses the origin characters of the Lunshan hot spring with geological condition analysis, hydrogeochemical data, and isotope data. The results show that the hot water is SO 4 –Ca type in Lunshan area, and the cation content of SO 4 is high, which are related to the deep hydrogeological conditions of the circulation in the limestone. Carbonate and anhydrite dissolutions occur in the groundwater circulation process, and they also dominate the water–rock interaction processes in the geothermal reservoir of Lunshan. The hot water rising channels are deeply affected by the NW and SN faults. Schematic diagrams of the conceptual model of the geothermal water circulation in Lunshan are plotted. The origin of Tangshan, Tangquan, and Xiangquan hot springs are similar to the Lunshan hot spring. In general, the geothermal water in karst landforms around Nanjing mainly runs through the carbonate rock area and is exposed near the core of the anticlinal structure of karst strata, forming SO 4 –Ca/SO 4 –Ca–Mg type hot spring with the water temperature less than 60°C. The characters of the hot springs around Nanjing are similar, which are helpful for the further research, development, and management of the geothermal water resources in this region.

Lane-level road cluster is a most representative phenomenon in road networks and is vital to spatial data mining, cartographic generalization, and data integration. In this article, a lane-level road cluster recognition method was proposed. First, the conception of lane-level road cluster and our motivation were addressed and the spatial characteristics were given. Second, a region growing cluster algorithm was defined to recognize lane-level road clusters, where constraints including distance and orientation were used. A novel moving distance (MD) metric was proposed to measure the distance of two lines, which can effectively handle the non-uniformly distributed vertexes, heterogeneous length, inharmonious spatial alignment, and complex shape. Experiments demonstrated that the proposed method can effectively recognize lane-level road clusters with the agreement to human spatial cognition.

The construction of 3D geological models based on geological maps is a subject worthy of study. The construction of geological interfaces is the key process of 3D geological modeling. It is hard to build the bottom interfaces of quaternary strata only using boundaries in large-scale geological maps. Moreover, it is impossible to construct bedrock geological interfaces through sparse occurrence data in large-scale geological maps. To address the above-mentioned two difficulties, we integrated two key algorithms into a new 3D modeling workflow. The buffer algorithm was used to construct virtual thickness contours of quaternary strata. The Inverse Distance Weighted (IDW) algorithm was applied to occurrence interpolation. Using a regional geological map of a city in southern China, the effectiveness of our workflow was verified. The complex spatial geometry of quaternary bottom interfaces was described in detail through boundaries buffer. The extension trends of bedrock geological interfaces were reasonably constraint by occurrence interpolation. The 3D geological model constructed by our workflow accords with the semantic relationship of tectonics. Through the model, the complex spatial structure of urban shallow strata can be displayed stereoscopically. It can provide auxiliary basis for decision-making of urban underground engineering.

Accurate crop planting structure (CPS) information and its relationship with the surrounding special environment can provide strong support for the adjustment of agricultural structure in areas with limited cultivated land resources, and it will help regional food security, social economy, and ecological balance adjustment. However, due to the perennial cloudy, rainy, and scattered arable land in Karst mountainous areas, the monitoring of planting structure by traditional remote sensing methods is greatly limited. In this regard, we focus on synthetic aperture radar (SAR) remote sensing, which can penetrate clouds and rain, without light constraints to image. In this article, based on parcel-based temporal sequence SAR, the CPS in South China karst area was extracted by deep learning technology, and the spatial coupling relationship between CPS and karst rocky desertification (KRD) was analyzed. The results showed that: (a) The overall accuracy of CPS classification was 75.98%, which proved that the geo-parcel-based time series SAR has a good effect for the CPS mapping in the karst mountainous areas; (b) Through the analysis of the spatial relationship between the planting structure and KRD, we found that the lower KRD level caused the simpler CPS and the higher KRD grade caused more complex CPS and more richer landscape types. The spatial variation trend of CPS landscape indicates the process of water shortage and the deepening of KRD in farmland; (c) The landscape has higher connectivity (Contagion Index, CI 0.52–1.73) in lower KRD level and lower connectivity (CI 0.83–2.05) in higher KRD level, which shows that the degree of fragmentation and connection of CPS landscape is positively proportional to the degree of KRD. In this study, the planting structure extraction of crops under complex imaging environment was realized by using the farmland geo-parcels-based time series Sentinel-1 data, and the relationship between planting structure and KRD was analyzed. This study provides a new idea and method for the extraction of agricultural planting structure in the cloudy and rainy karst mountainous areas of Southwest China. The results of this study have certain guiding significance for the adjustment of regional agricultural planting structure and the balance of regional development.

The physical, geochemical, and clay mineralogical properties are location dependent and influence landslide, yet this relationship is understudied in the Cameron Highlands. Therefore, this study demonstrates the effect of the selected physical–geochemical properties and clay mineralogy on landslide susceptibility (LS) in the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia. Seven soil samples were taken from non-landslide-affected slopes (NAS) and 13 from landslide-affected slopes (LAS), making a total of 20 samples that were analyzed. The degree of the LAS and NAS ranges from 42–80° and 30–70°, respectively. The NAS soils were characterized by lower sand, higher clay, higher organic matter content (OMC), and higher cation exchange capacity (CEC). Soils with high sand tend to have larger free pores and weak bonds, making them more vulnerable to landslides. The electrostatic charges on the clay’s surface bind the solution ions, increasing cohesion between soil particles. Also, high CEC in soils improves their stability through the binding effect resulting from the attraction between solution ions via the electrostatic surface charges of the clay in the soil. The clay mineralogy revealed the abundance of kaolinite and illite, indicating the last stage of weathering associated with the weathering of primary minerals forming the bedrock. In this study, it was demonstrated that high sand, low clay, low OMC, low CEC, and clay mineralogy of the soil were associated with slope failure in the study area.

In the Federal District of Brazil, groundwater extraction is challenged by fractured aquifers with difficulty in identification of hydraulic traps and significant uncertainty in the estimation of recharge potential. This study aims to optimize the demarcation of new locations of tubular wells by the aid of geophysical investigation. In the first stage of this study, the total exploitable amount of groundwater were calculated from the information of the physical environment and the existing wells. Second, electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) method was carried out on the selected sites – based on their surficial characteristics. The possible hydraulic traps (where groundwater might exist) were identified from the inversion of the resistivity measured by the dipole–dipole array and from the delineation of the resultant conducting zones (including the weathered rocks and fractures). Using this approach, we predicted the position and number of tubular wells required and ranked them according to their potential productivity. The study provides a promising framework for investigating groundwater in fractured aquifers.

We report varied microbially induced sedimentary structures (MISS), and other sedimentary surface textures, from the Induan (Early Triassic) Sunjiagou Formation and Liujiagou Formation in the Xingyang, Dengfeng, Jiyuan and Yiyang areas, western Henan Province, North China. Microanalysis shows that these MISS are characterized by a U-shaped structure, thin clayey laminae, and discontinuous mica sheet that are arranged parallel to the bedding plane, as well as directionally oriented quartz grains floating in lamina, which are indicative of a biogenic origin. The MISS of the studied area were probably affected by four main factors, including the end-Permian mass extinction, the megamonsoon, the adapted sedimentary environment, and the sediment supply, and they possess significant stratigraphic correlation. Abundant microbial-related sedimentary structures from the study area indicate that continental ecosystems were severely devastated in the aftermath of the Permian-Triassic biocrisis. These sedimentary structure assemblages, including MISS, red beds, conglomerate layers, and calcareous concretions in the western Henan Province, show a specific, post-extinction continental ecosystem that was characterized by microflora dominance, monotonous and rare fossils, extreme hot climate, soil ecosystem devastation, and poor vegetation.

The amount of the lateral displacements on the mechanically stabilized earth (MSE) wall depends on the reinforcement extensibility and length, reinforcement-to-facing connection, and the wall facing, among others. In this study, the deformation behavior of MSE wall models was focused considering two types of wall facing and three types of reinforcement. A series of small-scale model tests were undertaken on the MSE wall having a full-height rigid (FHR) facing and a segmental panel-type (SPT) wall facing. At the same time, the models were using discrete geogrids, geosynthetic strips, and steel rods as reinforcement. The results showed that the geogrids-reinforced MSE wall with FHR facing exhibited the highest load capacity with the least vertical displacements. The MSE wall models with steel reinforcements generally exhibited the least lateral displacements at wall facing than those with geosynthetics reinforcements. Finally, the results showed that MSE wall models with FHR facing have generally lesser lateral displacements at the wall facing compared to those with SPT wall facing.

This study established a probability model based on the landslide spatial and size probabilities to predict the possible volume and locations of landslides in watershed scale under rainfall events. First, we assessed the landslide spatial probability using a random forest landslide susceptibility model including intrinsic causative factors and extrinsic rainfall factors. Second, we calculated the landslide volume probability using the Pearson type V distribution. Lastly, these probabilities were joined to predict possible landslide volume and locations in the study area, the Taipei Water Source Domain, under rainfall events. The possible total landslide volume in the watershed changed from 1.7 million cubic meter under the event with 2-year recurrence interval to 18.2 million cubic meter under the event with 20-year recurrence interval. Approximately 62% of the total landslide volume triggered by the rainfall events was concentrated in 20% of the slope units. As the recurrence interval of the events increased, the slope units with large landslide volume tended to concentrate in the midstream of Nanshi River subwatershed. The results indicated the probability model posited can be used not only to predict total landslide volume in watershed scale, but also to determine the possible locations of the slope units with large landslide volume.

This study examines rainfall forecasting for the Perfume (Huong) River basin using the machine learning method. To be precise, statistical measurement indicators are deployed to evaluate the reliability of the actual accumulated data. At the same time, this study applied and compared two popular models of multi-layer perceptron and the k -nearest neighbors ( k -NN) with different configurations. The calculated rainfall data are obtained from the Hue, Aluoi, and Namdong hydrological stations, where the rainfall demonstrated a giant impact on the downstream from 1980 to 2018. This study result shows that both models, once fine-tuned properly, enjoyed the performance with standard metrics of R_squared, mean absolute error, Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency, and root-mean-square error. In particular, once Adam stochastic is deployed, the implementation of the MLP model is significantly improving. The promising forecast results encourage us to consider applying these models with future data to help natural disaster non-stop mitigation in the Perfume River basin.

Salinization is one of the most widespread environmental threats in arid and semi-arid regions that occur either naturally or artificially within the soil. When exceeding the thresholds, salinity becomes a severe danger, damaging agricultural production, water and soil quality, biodiversity, and infrastructures. This study used spectral indices, including salinity and vegetation indices, Sentinel-2 MSI original bands, and DEM, to model soil salinity in the Great Hungarian Plain. Eighty-one soil samples in the upper 30 cm of the soil surface were collected from vegetated and nonvegetated areas by the Research Institute for Soil Sciences and Agricultural Chemistry (RISSAC). The sampling campaign of salinity monitoring was performed in the dry season to enhance salt spectral characteristics during its accumulation in the subsoil. Hence, applying a partial least squares regression (PLSR) between salt content (g/kg) and remotely sensed data manifested a highly moderate correlation with a coefficient of determination R 2 of 0.68, a p -value of 0.000017, and a root mean square error of 0.22. The final model can be deployed to highlight soil salinity levels in the study area and assist in understanding the efficacy of land management strategies.

Sand–bentonite mixtures are used in road embankments as a protective material for protecting underground high-voltage cables and utility pipelines supplying water and gas etc. The sand–bentonite mixtures provide benefits while laying high-voltage cables. The purpose of this study is to determine the proportions as well as mechanical and thermal properties of a dry-mixed sand–bentonite mixture and to investigate the suitability of such mixtures for installation around high-voltage underground power lines in road embankments. When selecting a sand–bentonite mixture, the following requirements must be ensured: the compressive strength must be greater than 0.5 MPa after 24 h; the thermal resistivity must be greater than 1.2 K m/W (thermal conductivity 0,833 W/(K m)); and the moisture content of the sand–bentonite mixture must be less than 13%. The following materials were used when selecting the bentonite mixture: bentonite, 0–4.0 mm fraction sand, cement (CEM I 42.5R), and water. In this study, six groups of samples were formed, in which the parts of concrete, sand, cement, and water were added in different proportions. The strength and thermal conductivity of the samples were analyzed. Studies about the use of bentonite around high-voltage cables have revealed the need for wet mixing of bentonite suspensions. The required thermal conductivity properties of the soil were not achieved by dry mixing. This method of mixing can be useful only in cases when the thermal conductivity of the mixed soil is not relevant, because the work can be continued after a day.

The early Cambrian is a critical interval of dramatic oceanic and biochemical changes in geological history. The black shale deposits, which are rich in Mo, Ni, V, and platinum group elements (PGE), are a reflection of that interval. Among all known Cambrian black shale deposits in South China, the vanadium deposits are poorly constrained by geochronology. The newly discovered tuff layer in the Sansui Bagong vanadium deposit in Guizhou Province can provide excellent constraints on the age of vanadium deposits. In this study, we obtain a new zircon U–Pb isotopic age, which can constrain the age of the vanadium deposit. This tuff occurs in the middle part of the ore bed, and the age of the tuff layer can reflect the mineralization age of the V deposit. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) is used in this study to obtain the zircon U–Pb age of the tuff and indicates that the event of volcanic activity took place at 520.9 ± 1 Ma. This age is close to the boundary between the Cambrian Terreneuvian and Series 2. This result provides a good constraint on the age of the vanadium deposits in South China and makes the vanadium deposits to be comparable with other Mo–Ni–PGE deposits. The alteration of organic carbon isotope ( δ 13 C org ) values can reflect changes in the marine environment and is widely used in stratigraphic correlation. The analysis of the δ 13 C org values of the ore bed in the present study reveals a positive excursion at the bottom of the deposit and a negative excursion in the V-enriched layer. The δ 13 C org values in the Bagong section are comparable to those in the Xiaotan and Longbizui sections. The ages of the Sansui vanadium deposit constrained by the U–Pb isotopic age of the tuff and the δ 13 C org values are consistent. All of the data lead us to infer that the vanadium deposit formed at approximately 521 Ma.

The reservoirs of X Oilfield have the characteristics of fine lithology particles, strong pore structure heterogeneity, and high argillaceous reservoirs and thin layers are generally developed. Conventional logging interpretation cannot make a fine evaluation, which results in serious discrepancies between the interpretation results of some reservoirs and actual production performance, and reserves are underestimated. Improving poor reservoir identification and logging evaluation accuracy is of great significance to oilfield development. The flow zone indicator (FZI) is used to classify the reservoirs into three types, I, II, and III, and the classification results are combined to establish a reservoir type identification chart based on logging curves; the resolution matching method and the deconvolution method are used to improve the accuracy of thin-layer recognition. Finally, the logging interpretation model is reestablished. Logging evaluations were conducted on 20 wells in X oilfield, and Y core wells were used for verification. The application results show that this method can effectively improve the identification accuracy of thin oilfields and high argillaceous reservoirs; the results of fine logging interpretation of poor reservoirs are consistent with core analysis conclusions and actual production conditions, which are typical of the successful application of poor reservoir technology.

Geothermal resources occurring in the Changbaishan volcanic field are directly or indirectly controlled by volcanic activity and exhibit a close correlation with deep-seated faults. Energy and thermal transfer are generally controlled by groundwater circulation and hot gas emission. This article considers the detectability of hot water and gas by geophysical methods. The controlled source acoustic magnetotelluric (CSAMT) and radon ( 222 Rn) gas methods give straightforward information on electrical resistivity and natural radon emissions, respectively, to assess the geothermal condition. The CSAMT method detected five-banded low-apparent resistivity bodies (decreasing from 3,000 to 300 Ωm), indicating that there exists a high degree of water-bearing capacities in the subsurface. The radon ( 222 Rn) gas concentrations were monitored in two rapid growth zones: one zone showing values ranging from 3,000 to 23,000 Bq/m 3 , and the other with values from 4,000 to 24,000 Bq/m 3 . These changes demonstrate that the heat energies available in these areas were very high and that there is potential for geothermal resources in those zones. Combining with previously published data from geothermometry and geothermal drilling, we argue that there is great potential in Erdaobaihe for geothermal exploitation and that the geothermal resource type should be classified into uplift mountain geothermal system no magma type.

The Umba River basin is one of the smaller-scale hydrological basins in the East African region. It traverses two countries, with its catchment in the Usambara mountains in Tanzania, while it drains its waters to the Indian Ocean in Vanga, Kenya. The chemical and mineralogical compositions of the riverbank and bottom sediments of the Umba River were analyzed and evaluated to describe their source characteristics and provenance. The dominant minerals include quartz, K-feldspars, plagioclase, hornblende, pyroxenes, muscovite, biotite, and likely presence of clays such as kaolinite. The chemical index of alteration of the sediments indicate a moderate to high degree of alteration. They reflect a dominant mafic to intermediate igneous provenance consistent with the geology of the Umba River catchment that is characterized by the outcrops of the granitic Precambrian basement and the quartz-dominated Paleozoic Karoo Supergroup, overlain by Mesozoic and Cenozoic sediments dominated by both mafic and felsic minerals. The similarity of the chemical and mineralogical compositions of the Umba River sediments from source to mouth further indicates a uniform source in the upper course of the river and only subordinate contributions from the lower course where it passes the Karoo and the younger sediments.

This research presents a new approach which addresses the conversion of earthquake magnitude as a supervised machine-learning problem through a multistage approach. First, the moment magnitude ( M w ) calculations were extended to lower magnitude earthquakes using the spectral P-wave analyses of the vertical component seismograms to improve the scaling relation of M w and the local magnitude ( M L ) of 138 earthquakes in northeastern Egypt. Second, using unsupervised clustering and regression analysis, we applied the k -means clustering technique to subdivide the mapped area into multiple seismic activity zones. This clustering phase created five spatially close seismic areas for training regression algorithms. Supervised regression analysis of each seismic area was simpler and more accurate. Conversion relations between M w and M L were calculated by linear regression, general orthogonal regression (GOR), and random sample consensus (RANSAC) regression techniques. RANSAC and GOR produced better results than linear regression, which provides evidence for the effects of outliers on regression accuracy. Moreover, the overall multistage hybrid approach produced substantial improvements in the measured-predicted dataset residuals when individual seismic zones rather than all datasets were considered. In 90% of the analyzed cases, M w values could be regarded as M L values within 0.2 magnitude units. Moreover, predicted magnitude conversion relations in the current study corresponded well to magnitude conversion relations in other seismogenic areas of Egypt.

Air pollution is one of the most serious environmental problems faced by mankind. It is regional and highly complex, and it is more prominent in China. With the development of air quality management in China, the research on cross-regional transmission of air pollutants is particularly important. This paper reports on pollution characteristics, transport path, and distribution of pollution sources of major contaminants in Shenyang. For this purpose, pollution-monitoring data were gathered from November 2017 to March 2018. Data were analyzed using the HYSPLIT back trajectory model, the potential source contribution function (PSCF), and the concentration weighted trajectory (CWT) model. Results indicated that PM 2.5 was the main pollutant in Shenyang during the study period. Air pollution was mainly affected by coal combustion, traffic emissions, and long-distance transmission. Among the 11 monitoring points, the pollution of Shenliaoxilu was relatively serious. Mongolia, eastern Inner Mongolia, northwestern Jilin, and most of Liaoning were the main potential sources of PM 2.5 in Shenyang during the winter. Graphical abstract

This study concerns the creep impact on strength parameters of the selected very cohesive soils (PI = 30–70%). The analysis refers to Neogene clays characterized by a complex structure, resulting directly from a complicated load history in the geological time scale and identified glacitectonic deformations. In the process of samples’ preparation for strength tests as well as during the interpretation of the post-failure state, particular attention was paid to the soil structure. The imaging methods (X-ray densitometry and computer microtomography) enabled the comparison of the soil structure and the selection of samples with similar characteristics. The completed program of strength tests consisted of two series of tests in the triaxial stress state, differentiated by the occurrence of the initial creep stage, preceding the typical strength test scheme under undrained conditions. This study allowed to obtain a quantitative assessment of the influence of the creep process on the strength parameters of tested soils. Constant stress lower than 60% of the shear stress deviator leads to the deceleration creep course ( m parameter 0.64–0.89). As a result, higher values of internal friction angle (20% increase comparing to triaxial tests without creep stage) and cohesion reduction are obtained from triaxial creep tests. Creep parameter m is found to be a valuable indicator for differentiation of landslide activity trend. The tests proved low values of axial strains (1–5%) at failure, which was associated with lithogenesis. By the implementation of obtained strength parameters into the 3D finite element model of the slope, the potential influence of the creep process on the stability of an exemplary cross section of the Warsaw slope could be determined.

Landslides are one of the natural hazards, which have significant negative effects on both humans and the environment. Thus, slope stability analyses and stabilization processes are necessary to obviate or mitigate landslides. In this study, the effect of groundwater level fluctuations and the construction of a building (i.e., a recently built church) on slope stability was investigated on the eastern slope of the Avas Hill, at Miskolc, in Northeast Hungary. Soil movements and groundwater levels were monitored and geological and slope stability models were constructed. Furthermore, the possibility of constructing a retaining system was evaluated to minimize the detrimental effects of both groundwater level fluctuations and the construction of the church. The findings showed that the fluctuation in groundwater levels had a destructive effect on slope stability due to pore-water pressure, which decreased the soil strength of the slope and slope stability. On the other hand, the church added an external load onto the underlying soil leading to an increase in slope instability. Hence, we suggested constructing retaining structures such as gravity retaining walls to increase the soil shear strength and enhance slope stability in the long term.

Al-Shamal train pathway, which is extended between Saudi Arabia and Jordan, is prone to geo-hazards due to the geological features, proximity to faults, earthquake epicenter, and the human activities along the pathway. The objectives of this study are to shed light on the ground subsidence susceptibility along Al-Shamal train pathway in Qarrayat city in Saudi Arabia and develop a ground subsidence susceptibility model to determine the prone areas to the impacts of ground subsidence to mitigate and avoid the loss of life and property. This study integrated the various data types to map the subsidence susceptibility along Al-Shamal train pathway. Nine ground subsidence causative parameters were selected as subsidence controlling factors in the study area including lithology, land cover/land use, elevation, slope, aspect, annual average rainfall, distance to faults, distance to earthquake epicenter, and distance to streams. The analytical hierarchy process is applied to obtain accurate weight to each criterion through the distribution of online Google form questionnaire to experts in different expertise and get their judgments on the weights of ground subsidence causative parameters in the study area. A subsidence susceptibility index was derived by classifying susceptible maps into five classes, namely, very low, low, moderate, high, and very high using the statistical distribution analysis. The results revealed that the study area is subjected to moderate susceptibility with about 32.56. A total of 29.8 and 11.52% of the study area had very low and low susceptibilities, respectively, and 8.44 and 17.68% had very high and high susceptibilities, respectively. The results were validated using the receiver operating characteristic using previous ground subsidence locations. The area under the curve showed 0.971, which is equivalent to 97.1%. Consequently, the findings of the study are thought to be beneficial to managers and decision makers for future planning, mitigating, and preventing subsidence in the study area.

The complex pore throat characteristics are significant factors that control the properties of tight sandstone reservoirs. Due to the strong heterogeneity of the pore structure in tight reservoirs, it is difficult to characterize the pore structure by single methods. To determine the pore throat, core, casting thin sections, micrographs from scanning electron microscopy, rate-controlled mercury injection, and high-pressure mercury injection were performed in member 2 of Xujiahe Formation of Yingshan gasfield, Sichuan, China. The pore throat characteristics were quantitatively characterized, and the distribution of pore throat at different scales and its controlling effect on reservoir physical properties were discussed. The results show that there are mainly residual intergranular pores, intergranular dissolved pores, ingranular dissolved pores, intergranular pores, and micro-fractures in the second member of the Xujiahe Formation tight sandstone reservoir. The distribution range of pore throat is 0.018–10 μm, and the radius of pore throat is less than 1 μm. The ranges of pore radius were between 100 and 200 μm, the peak value ranges from 160 to 180 μm, and the pore throat radius ranges from 0.1 to 0.6 μm. With the increase of permeability, the distribution range of throat radius becomes wider, and the single peak throat radius becomes larger, showing the characteristic of right skew. The large throat of the sandy conglomerate reservoir has an obvious control effect on permeability, but little influence on porosity. The contribution rate of nano-sized pore throat to permeability is small, ranging from 3.29 to 34.67%. The contribution rate of porosity was 48.86–94.28%. Therefore, pore throat characteristics are used to select high-quality reservoirs, which can guide oil and gas exploration and development of tight sandstone reservoirs.

An inorganic geochemical investigation of mudrocks and sandstone from the southern Bredasdorp Basin, off the south coast of South Africa was carried out to unravel the provenance, paleoweathering, and tectonic setting of the basin. Seventy-seven representative samples from exploration wells E-AH1, E-AJ1, E-BA1, E-BB1, and E-D3 underwent geochemical analysis involving major and trace elements. The major oxide compositions show that the sandstones could be classified as sub-arkose and sub-lithic arenite. The provenance discrimination diagrams based on major oxide geochemistry revealed that the sandstones are mainly of quartzose sedimentary provenance, while the mudrocks are of quartzose sedimentary and intermediate igneous provenances. The discrimination diagrams indicate that the Bredasdorp sediments were mostly derived from a cratonic interior or recycled orogen. The bivariate plots of TiO 2 versus Ni, TiO 2 against Zr, and La/Th versus Hf as well as the ternary diagrams of V–Ni–Th∗10 suggest that the mudrocks and sandstones were derived from felsic igneous rocks. The tectonic setting discrimination diagrams support passive-active continental margin setting of the provenance. Also, the closely similar compositions of the analysed samples and recent sedimentary rocks of the East African Rift System perhaps suggest a rifted basin tectonic setting for the Bredasdorp Basin. Chemical index of alteration (CIA) indices observed in the sandstones suggest that their source area underwent low to moderate degree of chemical weathering. However, the mudrocks have high CIA indices suggesting that the source area underwent more intense chemical weathering, possibly due to climatic and/or tectonic variations.

In this paper, an inventory of the landslide that occurred in Karahacılı at the end of 2019 was created and the pre-landslide conditions of the region were evaluated with traditional statistical and spatial data mining methods. The current orthophoto of the region was created by unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). In this way, the landslide areas in the region were easily determined. According to this, it was determined that the areas affected by the landslides had an average slide of 26.56 m horizontally. The relationships among the topographic, hydrographic, and vegetative factors of the region were revealed using the Apriori algorithm. It was determined that the areas with low vegetation in the study area with 55% confidence were of a Strong Slope feature from the Apriori algorithm. In addition, the cluster distributions formed by these factors were determined by K -means. Among the five clusters created with K -means, it was determined that the study area was 38% in the southeast, had a Strong Slope, Low Vegetation, Non-Stream Line, and a slope less than 140 m. K -means results of the study were made with performance metrics. Average accuracy, recall, specificity, precision, and F-1 score were found as 0.77, 0.69, 0.84, and 0.73 respectively.

The reservoirs in the eastern depression of Liaohe basin are formed by multistage igneous eruption. The lithofacies and lithology are complex, and the lithology is mainly intermediate and basic igneous rocks. Based on the integration of debris data of igneous rocks and logging data, this article selected 6,462 continuous logging data with complete cuttings data and five conventional logging curves (RLLD, AC, DEN, GR, and CNL) from four wells in the eastern depression of Liaohe basin as the training set. A variety of lithologic identification schemes based on support vector machine and random forest are established to classify the pure igneous strata and actual strata. By comparing the classification results with the identification data of core slice and debris slice, a practical lithologic classification scheme for igneous rocks in the eastern depression of Liaohe basin is obtained, and the classification accuracy reaches 97.46%.

Datong Basin is a platform uplift formed in the Cenozoic era and has a significant coal-bearing geological unit in China. Tashan Mine is located in the middle-eastern part of the Datong Basin, the coal resources of the Taiyuan Formation are abundant, and the research value is enormous. Of the coal resources, coal seams 3–5 and 8 are the main. The lack of research in sequence stratigraphy, coal-forming environment, coal-accumulating model limits the layout efficiency of working face and the exploration and development efficiency of coal measures associated resources. This study used sedimentary and sequence stratigraphy and calculated and measured field drilling data to investigate the sequence stratigraphic characteristics, paleogeographic pattern, and coal accumulation model of the Taiyuan Formation. The sequence boundary and system tract boundary were identified, and the Taiyuan Formation was divided into four third-order sequences. The paleogeographic pattern was reconstructed with the third-order sequence as a unit by applying the single-factor analysis and multifactor comprehensive mapping. Additionally, the distribution characteristics of the main coal seams were clarified, and the corresponding coal accumulation model was reconstructed. The results exhibit that the sedimentary facies transformed from carbonate platform–tidal flat–lagoon–shallow water delta facies to shallow water delta facies from SQ1 to SQ2, coal seam 8 formed in interdistributary bay microfacies and peat swamp microfacies in SQ1. Transgression further expanded in SQ3, and the sedimentary facies were still dominated by the shallow water delta facies. Coal seams 3–5 are formed in distributary channel microfacies, which consist of interdistributary bay microfacies and peat swamp microfacies. The paleogeographic pattern was still dominated by shallow water delta in SQ4, in which interdistributary depressions and peat swamp microfacies widely developed. The thickness of coal seams 3–5 is in the range of 2.40–25.90 m, in which the northwestern study area is characterized by moderate water depth and sufficient fine sediment, and the widely developed distributary bay and peat swamp deposited a thick coal seam. The thickness of coal seam 8 is in the range of 0.5–10.5 m, and the thickness is stable (mostly thicker than 6 m) controlled by the widely developed lagoon, mud flat, and peat swamp microfacies and reduction water environment.

The thick soft superficial layers of the seabed greatly influence ground motion generally. It is worth studying how to find out the influence of these soft layers on ground motion parameters and determine reasonable seismic fortification parameters for ocean engineering. Numerical experiments of site response analysis are designed using two offshore engineering sites in this study. First, the borehole profiles are selected and stripped layer by layer to generate new profiles. Second, 108 acceleration time histories are synthesized which basically represent the diversity of input motions’ amplitude and frequency. Third, a method that can automatically calculate characteristic periods and normalize response spectra is created to improve calculation efficiency. Fourth, peak accelerations, response spectra, and characteristic periods at different depths of the profiles with different stripping depths are calculated. The results show that the thick soft superficial layers can significantly decrease peak ground accelerations and increase characteristic periods, resulting in serious “low-fat” response spectra. The situation can be greatly improved by stripping off the soft superficial layers. After stripping off the thick soft superficial silt layers, if stripping is continued further, the variation in the superficial amplification ratios of peak accelerations and superficial characteristic periods will no longer be drastic, and the superficial amplification ratios and characteristic periods both tend to be mostly the same. The relative deviation of the amplification ratio of peak ground acceleration between a profile stripped and that without stripping can be 143%, and it can be 83% for characteristic period. It is advisable to strip off thick soft superficial layers to perform site response analysis, and the shear force at the bottom of the silt should be considered in engineering based on local seismic activity level, and the silt’s and the structure’s physical parameters.

Xiaolangdi Reservoir is a key control project to control the water and sediment in the lower Yellow River, and a timely and accurate grasp of the reservoir’s water storage status is essential for the function of the reservoir. This study used all available Landsat images (789 scenes) and adopted the modified normalized difference water index, enhanced vegetation index, and normalized difference vegetation index to map the surface water from 1999 to 2019 in Google Earth Engine (GEE) cloud platform. The spatiotemporal characteristics of the surface water body area changes in the Xiaolangdi Reservoir in the past 21 years are analyzed from the water body type division, area change, type conversion, and the driving force of the Xiaolangdi water body area changes was analyzed. The results showed that (1) the overall accuracy of the water body extraction method was 98.86%, and the kappa coefficient was 0.96; (2) the maximum water body area of the Xiaolangdi Reservoir varies greatly between inter-annual and intra-annual, and seasonal water body and permanent water body have uneven spatiotemporal distribution; (3) in the conversion of water body types, the increased seasonal water body area of the Xiaolangdi Reservoir from 1999 to 2019 was mainly formed by the conversion of permanent water body, and the reduced permanent water body area was mainly caused by non-water conversion; and (4) the change of the water body area of the Xiaolangdi Reservoir has a weak negative correlation with natural factors such as precipitation and temperature, and population. It is positively correlated with seven indicators such as runoff and regional gross domestic product (GDP). The findings of the research will provide necessary data support for the management and planning of soil and water resources in the Xiaolangdi Reservoir.

Using traditional remains and the evolution of cultural landscapes as bases for overall protection and “production-living-ecology spaces” (PLE spaces) as carriers, we have established a regional and holistic research path, “evaluation – zoning – zone evolution – integrated conservation,” to cultural landscape protection. The traditional cultural landscape of more than 97% of all administrative villages in Meicheng was evaluated, and the overall Hakka cultural landscape was divided into three zones of low, medium, and high traditional values. The study found that the different impacts of urbanization on geographical space were leading contributors to the generation of different spatial zones. To accommodate the evolving trends of the zones, three conservation modes and their corresponding protection strategies have been proposed: construction with traditional elements; parallel conservation and development; and authenticity preservation. Meanwhile, the regional artery-tributary pattern has been constructed to foster interconnection across hubs, artery-tributary systems, and different zones. Cultural tourism routes should be established, and regional courier roads and greenways should be linked, to ensure the alignment of traditional landscape networks with modern Hakka cultural landscape networks, featuring traditional elements to facilitate integrated regional conservation of the Hakka cultural landscape.

To prevent coal mine water disasters, the main objective of this study is to predict the water enrichment of the main aquifer in a coal mine of China that has been threatened by water inrush. The prediction is carried out using a geographic information system (GIS) and a coupled analytic hierarchy process (AHP) and entropy model. The flushing fluid consumption, burnt rock distribution, sand–shale ratio, and lithology structure index were determined as the main factors controlling the water enrichment of the aquifer. A thematic map of these main factors was constructed using the spatial data analysis functions of GIS and the data from a total of 146 drilling columns and field investigation. The weights of these controlling factors were calculated using the coupled model. A prediction map of the water enrichment of the aquifer was then developed by overlaying the thematic map with the weights of each controlling factor. The degree of water enrichment was finally divided into four levels for easy interpretation, where Level I denotes the highest water enrichment and poses the greatest threat of water disaster.

In this study, we investigated the stability and reactivation of preexisting Tonghua landslide deposits in China, including the adjacent stable slope. We used an integrated approach, combining a multichannel analysis of surface waves (MASW) and electrical resistivity tomography (ERT). We used ERT to determine groundwater seepage paths, weathering conditions, water content, and the depth to bedrock. High-resolution two-dimensional (2D) shear-wave velocity MASW images, on the other hand, played an essential role in detecting both horizontal and vertical compositions, disjointedness, and sliding surfaces related to lithological borders. Based on seismic models, we considered four geological layers encountered in the stable slope, including fractured (gravel) and weathered (phyllite) materials, as a sliding mass. We combined the 2D resistivity profiles obtained to create pseudo-three-dimensional ERT images to estimate water-saturated and unsaturated masses. From the tomography results, we identified different preexisting deposits, including buried arable clay deposits, old accumulated earthflow deposits, a water accumulation zone, and a fissure runoff. Based on the resistivity results, the bottom of the earthflow deposits is susceptible to water, and oversaturation can reactivate the earthflow.

In this contribution, we use a newly acquired high-resolution airborne geophysical data set and field geological investigations in the Kirk Range area in southern Malawi to understand structures that control gold mineralization. Gold in this area is alluvial, mined by artisanal miners and detailed information regarding the structures controlling primary mineralization remains sparse. Structural interpretations are afforded by in-depth investigation of airborne magnetic and radiometric data, which are then supported by ground geological mapping and by microscopic observations using X-ray computed tomography (XCT) and optical microscopy. The results show that the Kirk Range displays extensive faulting and shearing with a NE–SW trend as the prevalent structural grain of the region. Gold mineralization is hosted in NE–SW trending structures. The wall rock alteration associated with gold mineralization results in a pronounced K/Th anomaly, which is suggested as an important radiometric guide for future exploration efforts. Exploration in the Kirk Range region should focus on the NE–SW structures, which represent potential conduits for fluid flow.

The purpose of this research is to study the scope and magnitude of the impact of expressways and their entrances and exits, as well as the effects of environmental and socio-economic factors on those impacts. Based on multi-period remote-sensing images and land use/land cover change data, the expressway lines and entrances and exits in Hunan Province, China, in 2015 are selected as the research objects. The Urbanization Impact Index ( U ) and the Impact Strength Index ( E ) are used to characterize the impact of the expressway on peripheral land use. Geographic information system spatial analysis and correlation analysis methods are also used in this research. The results show that (1) the scope of the expressway impact is 8.4 km and that of the entrances and exits is 8.8 km, of which the impact is considered strong within 0.2 and 3.2 km, respectively; (2) environmental and socio-economic conditions have no obvious effect on the impact scope of the expressways but have a weak effect on the impact scope of the entrances and exits; and (3) regions with more complex terrain and a lower level of socio-economic development have the larger impact scope as well as a stronger impact.

Twelve samples of heavy metals were analyzed by using a 1108A-1 mid-current particle sampler in Dalian, Liaoning Province, for 31 days before and after the spring festival 2019. The results showed that the concentrations of heavy metals were decreased by more than 25% during the spring festival, which was probably due to the shutdown of the factories and the decrease in people’s travel. During the spring festival, the concentration of Ba was increased by 343.39% as compared to the concentration of Ba before the spring festival, which indicated that the fireworks had a great influence on the concentration of Ba. At the same time, this study also evaluated the health risk of heavy metals. For the heavy metals As, Cd, Co, Cr, and Ni, the lifetime cancer risk was found to be 2.13 × 10 −4 , 2.08 × 10 −5 , 8.64 × 10 −7 , 4.39 × 10 −4 and 7.93 × 10 −7 , respectively. The lifetime cancer risk of As, Cd, and Cr exceeds the threshold range of cancer risk (10 −6 –10 −4 ), indicating that they are carcinogenic to humans. Also, during the spring festival, the non-carcinogenic risk value of V exceeded the limit value of environmental protection agency (EPA), and the lifetime carcinogenic risk value of As, Cd, and Cr exceeded the threshold range of carcinogenic risk; hence, they need to be carefully monitored and controlled.

Carbonate cements are primary cement types formed in deep sandstone reservoirs of Dongying Sag. We have proposed three stages of carbonate cements with different origin and material sources: carbonate cements in early stage are rim-shaped high-Mg calcite, which is the product of quasi-contemporaneous period; and calcite filled with primary pores without obvious compaction and diagenetic transformation is mudstone compaction during the drainage process. Carbonate cements in middle stage are calcite and dolomite filled with feldspar secondary dissolved pores. The rich Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ , and CO 3 2 − {\text{CO}}_{3}^{2-} in overpressure fluid enter the reservoir and mix with Ca 2+ in the original formation water. Carbonate cements in late stage are ferrocalcite and ankerite that filled the dissolution pores of early- and middle-stage carbonate cements. They were products of CO 3 2 − {\text{CO}}_{3}^{2-} formed by organic acid splitting decomposition in late diagenesis and CO 3 2 − {\text{CO}}_{3}^{2-} formed by dissolution of carbonate cements in early and middle stages, combined with Mg 2+ , Ca 2+ , Fe 2+ plasma in pore fluid. Dissolution–reprecipitation of the lacustrine carbonate rocks is responsible for obvious positive drift in the δ 13 C PDB ‰ values of carbonate cements. Carbonate cements in middle stage and late stage, respectively, represent the early hydrocarbon charging of Dongying Formation and the end of Guantao Formation to the present.

Machine learning-based data-driven methods are increasingly being used to extract structures and essences from the ever-increasing pool of geoscience-related big data, which are often used in relation to the atmosphere, oceans, and land surfaces. This study focuses on applying a data-driven forecast model to the classical ensemble Kalman filter process to reconstruct, analyze, and elucidate the model. In this study, a nonparametric sampler from a catalog of historical datasets, namely, a nearest neighbor or analog sampler, is given by numerical simulations. Based on this catalog (sampler), the dynamics physics model is reconstructed using the K -nearest neighbors algorithm. The optimal values of the surrogate model are found, and the forecast step is performed using locally weighted linear regression. Several numerical experiments carried out using the Lorenz-63 and Lorenz-96 models demonstrate that the proposed approach performs as good as the ensemble Kalman filter for larger catalog sizes. This approach is restricted to the ensemble Kalman filter form. However, the basic strategy is not restricted to any particular version of the Kalman filter. It is found that this combined approach can outperform the generally used sequential data assimilation approach when the size of the catalog is substantially large. Graphical abstract

The municipality of Štrpce (Southern Serbia) is an area located within Šar Mountain National Park, which is of great ecological importance. Due to the vicinity of settlements, it is necessary to analyze the terrain's susceptibility to natural hazards. The main goal of this research was to determine locations that are highly vulnerable at times of natural hazards (such as earthquakes, erosion, torrential flooding, snow avalanches, and forest fires). The first step in this research was to analyze seismic hazards for a 475 years return period (VII–VIII MCS for the observed area), which was possible by means of Geographic Information Systems. The second step was to determine the intensity of erosion and total sediment production using the Erosion Potential Model. The third step was related to the analysis of the potential of torrential floods using the Flash Flood Potential Index. The Avalanches Potential Index method was used as the fourth step. The fifth step included the analysis of a terrain susceptibility to the occurrence of forest fires. Following the five criteria analysis, weight coefficients were assigned to each of the analyzed parameters by using the Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP), which provided results of the total susceptibility to natural hazards of the territory of Štrpce. Results indicated that over 45% of the municipality is highly or very highly susceptible to various natural hazards. This article represents a significant step toward a better understanding of natural hazards and it provides a unique knowledge basis for establishing the management and mitigation guidelines and measures, not only within the researched area but at regional and national levels as well.

The emergence of big data is breaking the spatial and time limitations of urban waterlogging scenario description. The scenario data of different dimensions (e.g., administrative levels, sectors, granularities, and time) have become highly integrated. Accordingly, a structural and systematic model is needed to represent waterlogging scenarios for more efficient waterlogging response decision-making. In this article, a full-view urban waterlogging scenario is first defined and described from four dimensions. Next a structured representation of scenario element is given based on knowledge unit method. The full-view scenario model is then constructed by extracting the scenario correlation structures between different dimensions (called scenario nesting), i.e., inheritance nesting, feedback nesting, aggregation nesting, and selection nesting. Finally, a real-world case study in Wuhan East Lake High-tech Development Zone, China is evaluated to verify the reasonability of the full-view model. The results show that the proposed model effectively integrates scenario data from different dimensions, which helps generate the complete key scenario information for urban waterlogging decision-making. The full-view scenario model is expected to be applicable for other disasters under big data environment.

The elemental geochemical characteristics of mudstones/shales are good tracers for indicating the evolution of tectonics, paleoenvironment, and paleoclimate. Based on the continuous sampling of drilling cores from the Middle Jurassic Dameigou and Shimengou Formations in the northern Qaidam Basin, the major, trace, and rare earth elements of the 31 mudstones and shales were analyzed. The information on the evolution of tectonics, provenance, and paleoclimate during Middle Jurassic was also recovered. The results show that: (1) A couple of elements consisting of Sc, Y, V, Cr, Co, Ni, Cu, Zn, Th, and U are relatively enriched, indicating that the contents of siderophile and chalcophile elements are significantly high in the Middle Jurassic samples; (2) Changes in the chemical index of alteration, Ga/Rb, and K 2 O/Al 2 O 3 ratios in the mudstone/shale samples suggest that the paleoclimate was changed from warm and humid in the early stage to cold and dry in the middle stage and to hot and arid in the late stage; (3) The Middle Jurassic provenance of the northern Qaidam Basin was predicted from upper crust and felsic rocks to the mixed felsic rocks and basic rocks; (4) The Middle Jurassic tectonic background was changed from passive continental margin to active continental margin and oceanic island arc. The paleoclimatic and paleogeographic evolution of northern Qaidam Basin were closely related to the surrounding paleo-oceanic and ancient plate activities. In the early stage of the Middle Jurassic, the extensional activity in the passive continental margin and the water vapor input was caused by the Tethys Ocean, resulting in a warm and humid paleoclimate. In the late stage of the Middle Jurassic, the tectonic background of the study area tended to be an oceanic island arc caused by compressive tectonic, which blocked the monsoon input and led to a hot and arid paleoclimate. The establishment of multiple geochemical profiles can provide a scientific basis for the climate changes in greenhouse–icehouses and source–sink systems of the Middle Jurassic in northwestern China.

Two adjacent glaciers collapsed consecutively in the Western Xizang Autonomous Region, China, on July 17 and September 21, 2016, presumably triggered by relatively intensive climate change in this region, leading to massive downstream ice and mud avalanches. After these twin glacier collapses, there have been many researches, which mainly focus on the physical characteristics of these two glaciers while lack the differences between them and the other glaciers. In this study, the geometric features and energy distribution along the glacier centerlines are investigated to identify the differences between these two collapsed glaciers and other glaciers in the western Tibetan Plateau. The anomaly of climate change is presumed to be the trigger of the twin glacier collapses in accordance with existing research results, whereas in this study, the striking geometric similarity between the centerlines of the twin glaciers, which is quantitatively interpreted by the Fréchet distance among the glacier centerlines, unearth some novel mechanisms. The essential point in these new mechanisms is the energy distribution along the glacier centerlines. A hypothesis based on the principle of energy conservation is derived to demonstrate the mechanisms and dynamic processes of the glacier collapses. Furthermore, on the basis of the geometric similarity and energy distribution of the glacier centerlines, a risk assessment of glacier collapse in the western Tibetan Plateau is implemented to facilitate glacier disaster prevention.

Rock physics provides a dynamic tool for quantitative analysis by developing the basic relationship between fluid, lithological, and depositional environment of the reservoir. The elastic attributes such as impedance, density, velocity, V p / V s ratio, Mu-rho, and Lambda-rho are crucial parameters to characterize reservoir and non-reservoir facies. Rock physics modelling assists like a bridge to link the elastic properties to petrophysical properties such as porosity, facies distribution, fluid saturation, and clay/shale volume. A robust petro-elastic relationship obtained from rock physics models leads to more precise discrimination of pay and non-pay facies in the sand intervals of the study area. The Paleocene aged Lower Ranikot Formation and Pab sandstone of Cretaceous age are proven reservoirs of the Mehar gas field, Lower Indus Basin. These sands are widely distributed in the southwestern part of the basin and are enormously heterogeneous, which makes it difficult to distinguish facies and fluid content in the reservoir intervals. So, an attempt is made in this paper to separate the reservoir facies from non-reservoir facies by using an integrated approach of the petro-elastic domain in the targeted sand intervals. Furthermore, missing logs (S-sonic and P-sonic) were also synthesized in the wells and missing intervals along with improving the poor quality of the density log by captivating the washouts and other side effects. The calibrated rock physics model shows good consistency between measured and modelled logs. Petro-elastic models were predicted initially using petrophysical properties and incorporated at true reservoir conditions/parameters. Lithofacies were defined based on petrophysical cut-offs. Rock physics modelled elastic properties (Lambda-rho versus Mu-rho, impedance versus V p / V s ratio) were then cross-plotted by keeping lithofacies in the Z -axis. The cross-plots clearly separated and demarcated the litho-fluid classes (wet sand, gas sand, shale, and limestone) with specific orientation/patterns which were randomized in conventional petrophysical analysis.

This study explores how dolerite cutting waste could be utilized for improving the quality of compacted clay soils. Different proportions of dolerite waste powder with varying grain sizes were used as admixtures and their impact on clay soil properties investigated. Ten samples were prepared by mixing clay soil with different proportions of dolerite waste powder having grain sizes of 0.210, 0.297, and 0.420 mm. The resulting samples were subjected to Proctor compaction, and their maximum dry density and optimum moisture content were measured. Next, all the compacted samples were subjected to geotechnical testing, including the determination of Atterberg limits, California bearing ratio (CBR), unconfined compressive strength, and specific gravity (Gs). The values of compaction parameters, Atterberg limits, and Gs were utilized for finding the porosity, void ratio, saturation potential, liquidity index (LI), and consistency index (CI). The results demonstrate that the addition of dolerite powder produces a substantial improvement in the plasticity index, compaction parameters, CBR, unconfined compressive strength, Gs, porosity, void ratio, degree of saturation, LI, and CI. The foremost reason for this improvement is the presence of denser and less water-adoring minerals in the added dolerite relative to pristine clay soil. Furthermore, the observed positive impact on the soils’ geotechnical comportment is comparatively higher with coarser than finer dolerite because of the decrease in surface area that causes a reduction in the moisture content and porosity but an increase in the density of soil.

Geochemical and lithological investigations in the WON C-3X well record five organic-matter-rich intervals (OMRIs) of effective source rocks. These OMRIs correspond to moderate and good potentials. Two of these intervals occurred within the L-Kharita member of the Albian age represent 60.97% of the entire Albian thickness. The rest of OMRIs belongs to the Abu-Roash G and F members of the Late Cenomanian–Santonian age comprising 17.52 and 78.66% of their total thickness, respectively. The calculated heat flow of the studied basin is high within the range of 90.1–95.55 mW/m 2 from shallower Abu-Roash F to deeper L-Kharita members. This high-heat flow is efficient for shallowing in the maximum threshold expulsion depth in the studied well to 2,000 m and active source rock depth limit to 2,750 m. Thermal maturity and burial history show that the source rock of L-Kharita entered the oil generation from 97 Ma till the late oil stage of 7.5 Ma, whereas the younger Abu-Roash G and F members have entered oil generation since 56 Ma and not reached peak oil yet. Hence, the source rock intervals from Abu-Roash F and G are promising for adequate oil generation.

The rapid increase in urbanization has an important effect on cropping pattern and land use/land cover (LULC) through replacing areas of vegetation with commercial and residential coverage, thereby increasing the land surface temperature (LST). The LST information is significant to understand the environmental changes, urban climatology, anthropogenic activities, and ecological interactions, etc. Using remote sensing (RS) data, the present research provides a comprehensive study of LULC and LST changes in water scarce and climate prone Southern Punjab (Multan region), Pakistan, for 30 years (from 1990 to 2020). For this research, Landsat images were processed through supervised classification with maps of the Multan region. The LULC changes showed that sugarcane and rice (decreased by 2.9 and 1.6%, respectively) had less volatility of variation in comparison with both wheat and cotton (decreased by 5.3 and 6.6%, respectively). The analysis of normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) showed that the vegetation decreased in the region both in minimum value (−0.05 [1990] to −0.15 [2020]) and maximum value (0.6 [1990] to 0.54 [2020]). The results showed that the built-up area was increased 3.5% during 1990–2020, and these were some of the major changes which increased the LST (from 27.6 to 28.5°C) in the study area. The significant regression in our study clearly shows that NDVI and LST are negatively correlated with each other. The results suggested that increasing temperature in growing period had a greatest effect on all types of vegetation. Crop-based classification aids water policy managers and analysts to make a better policy with enhanced information based on the extent of the natural resources. So, the study of dynamics in major crops and surface temperature through satellite RS can play an important role in the rural development and planning for food security in the study area.

Eighty-eight free-field strong ground motion observation datasets obtained by the National Strong Motion Observation Network System of China for the Jiuzhaigou Ms 7.0 earthquake were used to study the characteristics of the strong ground motion and the site response. In this study, we calculated the VS30 of the near field station and compared the observed values of the horizontal peak acceleration and peak velocity with the CB2014 ground motion prediction models developed by Campbell et al. (2014). The results indicate that the observed values of the horizontal peak acceleration and peak velocity of the Jiuzhaigou earthquake are both smaller than the predicted values obtained from the ground motion prediction equations. By regressing the spatial variation curves of the D SR (5–95%) and D SR (5–75%) ground motion durations, and comparing them with Bommer’s (2009) ground motion duration prediction curve, it was found that the duration of the Jiuzhaigou earthquake was greater than that obtained from the global empirical prediction equation. The scope of the source duration corresponding to the D SR (5–75%) duration is 2.76–4.28 s, and the scope of the source duration corresponding to the D SR (5–95%) duration is 8.88–10.36 s, which are close to the peak time and completion time of the seismic moment release during the source rupture process. The linear elastic acceleration response spectra of 11 stations within 100 km of the fault were calculated for comparison with the design spectrum. It was concluded that the range of the predominant period of the response spectrum was 0.05–0.26 s, which is less than the natural vibration period of the local multistory building. However, the response spectrum value recorded by station 51JZZ is greater than the design spectrum of the 8° rare earthquake and the observation values of the nearby strong ground motion stations. Through analysis of the H / V spectrum ratio and the case of station 51JZZ, which is closest to the epicenter, this phenomenon was concluded to be related to the magnification effect of the near-surface soil layer and the nonlinear response of the site under the action of strong earthquakes.

By performing scanning electron microscopy, microscopic observations, whole-rock X-ray diffraction analysis, organic geochemistry analysis, and elemental analysis on drill core specimens and thin sections, in this study, we classified the shale types of the Wufeng Formation-Member 1 of the Longmaxi Formation in western Hubei, southern China, and explored the development characteristics and formation environments of the different shale types. The results show that (1) the shales of the Wufeng Formation-Member 1 of the Longmaxi Formation are composed of three types of shale: siliceous shale, mixed clay-siliceous shale, and clay shale. The siliceous shale is a type of shale unique to deep-water environments; clay shale is the main type of shale formed in shallow-water environments; and mixed clay-siliceous shale falls between the two. (2) The changes in shale type are characterized by multiple depositional cycles in the vertical direction with strong heterogeneity and an obvious tripartite character, and the siliceous shales gradually thicken as they laterally extend northwestward, with their last depositional cycle gradually ending at a later time. (3) The Late Ordovician-Early Silurian paleoenvironment can be divided into six evolutionary stages (A, B, C, D, E, and F) from early to late. In particular, the sea level was relatively lower in stages A and F when the bottom water was mainly oxygen rich with higher terrigenous inputs and a lower paleoproductivity, which led to the formation of clay shales poor in organic matter but rich in terrigenous quartz clasts. The sea level was higher in stages B, C, and D when the bottom water was anoxic with lower terrigenous inputs and a higher paleoproductivity, which led to the formation of siliceous shales rich in organic matter and biogenic silica. The total organic carbon (TOC) contents of siliceous shales decrease in the order of stage C > stage D > stage B, which is mainly attributed to the different degrees of water restriction in the three stages and the consequently different paleoproductivities. Stage E corresponds to the mixed clay-siliceous shales, the depositional environment of which is between those of the siliceous shales and the clay shales, thereby resulting in the mineral composition and TOC content of the mixed clay-siliceous shales being between those of the other two shale types.

The repetitive and destructive nature of floods across the globe causes significant economic damage, loss of human lives, and leaves the people living in flood-prone areas with fear and insecurity. With enough literature projecting an increase in flood frequency, severity, and magnitude in the future, there is a clear need for effective flood management strategies and timely implementation. The earth observatory satellites of the European Space Agency’s Sentinel series, Sentinel-1, Sentinel-2, and Sentinel-3, have a great potential to combat these disastrous floods by their peerless surveillance capabilities that could assist in various phases of flood management. In this article, the technical specifications and operations of the microwave synthetic aperture radar (SAR) onboard Sentinel-1, optical sensors onboard Sentinel-2 (Multispectral Instrument) and Sentinel-3 (Ocean and Land Color Instrument), and SAR altimeter onboard Sentinel-3 are described. Moreover, the observational capabilities of these three satellites and how these observations can meet the needs of researchers and flood disaster managers are discussed in detail. Furthermore, we reviewed how these satellites carrying a range of technologies that provide a broad spectrum of earth observations stand out among their predecessors and have bought a step-change in flood monitoring, understanding, and management to mitigate their adverse effects. Finally, the study is concluded by highlighting the revolution this fleet of Sentinel satellites has brought in the flood management studies and applications.

For the implementation of lake ecological protection, understanding the water pollution status and spatio–temporal variation of water quality has become the most important thing for water safety in the basin. To analyze the water quality in recent years, water quality data in Erhai lake from 2013 to 2017 were first collected from typical nine monitoring stations. Based on the comprehensive water quality index (WQI) method, the temporal and spatial variation characteristics of water quality in Erhai lake were analyzed, and the main factors affecting water quality in Erhai lake were explored. The results indicated that the water quality of Erhai lake was worse than its target water quality, and total nitrogen (TN) and total phosphorus (TP) exceeded the Class Ⅱ standards (TN: 0.5 mg L −1 , TP: 0.025 mg L −1 ) of China’s Environmental Quality Standard for Surface Water (GB3838-2002). In terms of changes across seasons, the overall lake water quality in the dry season was better than that in the wet season, and TN and TP reached the peak value in September. In terms of spatial distribution, water quality of the northern area was better than that of the southern area in the dry season, whereas water quality of the southern area was better than that of the northern area in the wet season. At present, Erhai lake is at a critical turning point of water eutrophication, and its nutrition status is mainly affected by both nitrogen and phosphorus. The pollution load from the land area is the main factor affecting the deterioration of Erhai lake. Our results can provide a scientific basis for the treatment of the water environment of Erhai lake.

Based on the air quality data of Harbin in winter from 2015 to 2017, the national winter straw combustion data from 2016 to 2017 and the mixed single particle Lagrange comprehensive track model, Hybrid Single-Particle Lagrangian Integrated Trajectory Model (HYSPLIT), dynamic analysis of Harbin’s winter air quality status and influencing factors. The air quality data were analyzed; it was found that the main pollutants in winter in Harbin were SO 2 , NO 2 , PM 10 (particles with aerodynamic diameter ≤10 µm), and PM 2.5 (particles with aerodynamic diameter ≤2.5 µm); the annual air pollution situation deteriorated sharply from November and continued until March of the following year. Through the research on straw fire prevention points in Harbin, the spatial pattern characteristics and causes of persistent haze in Harbin from 2015 to 2017 were dynamically analyzed. Combining the backward trajectory model to trace the source and trend of air mass in pollution, it is found that the air mass trend is consistent with the distribution of straw-burning points. The research results show that (1) during the winter from 2015 to 2017, the overall air quality situation in Harbin improved, the number of serious pollution days decreased year by year, and the main atmospheric pollutants were PM 10 and PM 2.5 . In October and November, the pollution concentration peaked, and after December, the pollution concentration showed a downward trend until the next spring reached the valley and (2) the most obvious time of haze in Harbin is from November to December, and it is concluded that haze events are closely related to the large number of pollutants caused by the burning of straw around Harbin, and because the northwest monsoon climate affects the air quality, the transportation of fine particles caused by the burning of straw in winter in the surrounding areas of Harbin is the main cause of serious pollution in Harbin.

The flood is one of the frequently occurring natural hazards within the sub-basin of Lake Tana. The flood hazard within the sub-basin of Lake Tana causes damage to cropland, properties, and a fatality every season. Therefore, flood susceptibility modeling in this area is significant for hazard reduction and management purposes. Thus, the analytical hierarchy process (AHP), bivariate (information value [IV] and frequency ratio [FR]), and multivariate (logistic regression [LR]) statistical methods were applied. Using an intensive field survey, historical document, and Google Earth Imagery, 1,404-flood locations were determined, classified into 70% training datasets and 30% testing flood datasets using a subset within the geographic information system (GIS) environment. The statistical relationship between the probability of flood occurrence and 11 flood-driving factors was performed using the GIS tool. The flood susceptibility maps of the study area were developed by summing all weighted aspects using a raster calculator. It is classified into very low, low, moderate, high, and very high susceptibility classes using the natural breaks method. The accuracy and performance of the models were evaluated using the area under the curve (AUC). As the result indicated, the FR model has better performance (AUC = 99.1%) compared to the AHP model (AUC = 86.9%), LR model (AUC = 81.4%), and IV model (AUC = 78.2%). This research finds out that the applied methods are quite worthy for flood susceptibility modeling within the study area. In flood susceptibility modeling, method selection is not a serious challenge; the care should tend to the input parameter quality. Based on the AUC values, the FR model is comparatively better, followed by the AHP model for regional land use planning, flood hazard mitigation, and prevention purposes.

Estimating the density interface depth is an important task when interpreting gravity data. A range of techniques can be applied for this. Here we compare the effectiveness of the wavenumber and spatial domain techniques for inverting gravity data with respect to basement reliefs. These techniques were tested with two synthetic gravity models, and then applied to a real case: the gravity data of the Magura basin (East Slovakian Outer Carpathian). The findings show that the spatial domain technique can precisely estimate the structures, but the computation speed is slow, while the wavenumber domain technique can perform faster computations with less precision.

The ecological environment in arid areas of Northwest China has undergone considerable changes under the combined effects of climate change and human factors. Therefore, exploring the spatial and temporal evolution of the ecological environment quality is of great significance for the protection and management of the ecological environment in arid areas of Northwest China. This study adopted Yuyang district as the study area. Landsat Thematic Mapper/Operational Land Imager images from 1993 to 2018 were selected as the data source for the retrieval of important surface indicators and the construction of the remote sensing distance ecological index. The spatial distribution, trend, and grade classification of the ecological environment quality were monitored and analyzed. The results showed that (1) the ecological environment quality of Yuyang district from 1993 to 2018 showed an overall upward trend, mainly manifested as a sharp decline in the area of poor ecological environment from 84.81 to 53.36%. (2) The spatiotemporal changes in the ecological environment quality showed a downward trend in the central urban area and an upward trend in the noncentral urban area. (3) In general, rainfall and temperature had limited impact on the ecological environment quality. Urbanization seriously affected the local ecological environment quality and the implementation of the ecological restoration policies, regulations, and measures were the main drivers of the improvement to the ecological environment quality in other surrounding areas.

The evolution process of the North China Craton has been discussed by many scholars; however, the frame for the timing of the Trans-North China Block has not been fully agreed upon. Related research has mostly focused on the northern and southern sections of the Trans-North China Block, and in-depth studies on intrusive rocks in the central region are lacking. In this study, we conduct a systematic study of the petrography, the whole-rock geochemistry, and the zircon U–Pb dating for the beschtauite intrusion, located in the Mengjiaping area of the Southern Taihang Mountains. Our results demonstrate that the dyke intrusion is mainly composed of beschtauite. Laser ablation inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry zircon U–Pb dating shows that the beschtauite intrusion occurred at ∼1,880 ± 69 Ma. The beschtauite belongs to I-type granite, Arc tholeiite series, and Cale-alkaline series, with low total alkali, low potassium, and high aluminum. They are also enriched in large-ion lithophile elements, relatively depleted in high-field strength elements, and low total rare-earth elements. Based on the abovementioned data, it is suggested that the magmas for the beschtauite intrusion were metasomatized by oceanic slab subduction in the Late Paleoproterozoic. The formation time of the North China Craton basement should be set to after 1,880 Ma.

This study aims to emphasize the importance of scanning electron microscopy (SEM) in explaining the differences in the physical and mechanical behaviors of the improved clays before and after improvement. Generally, clays appear as problematic soils in the construction area. The reasons for this can be low strength, high compressibility, high level of volumetric changes, and swelling potential. The behavior of clays may not always be interpreted according to their physical and mechanical properties. In such cases, analyses are carried out according to the microstructure of the clay. Among several microstructural analyzes, SEM is very important, because the soil microstructure formed by clay particles and additives can be observed. This work discusses the studies based on the microstructural properties of the improved clay with SEM analysis. As a result of the studies carried out, it has been seen that unexplained physical or mechanical behavior can be explained by the microstructural behaviors of clay particles and additives.

The conventional blasting rock excavation method is the main means of rock breakage because of its high productivity, and it is relatively inexpensive compared to other methods. However, it raises safety concerns and can negatively impact the environment. The major disturbances that may be induced by this method include flyrock, gas emissions, and vibrations. This review discusses some nonexplosive rock breakage methods, particularly the hydraulic splitter and expansive chemical agents, that can be employed instead of the conventional blasting method and analyzes their potential effectiveness in rock breakage. Hydraulic splitting machines and expansive chemical agents were studied in the context of the literature. This review showed that hard rock breaking can be executed effectively and safely using alternative methods, which have a wide range of advantages, including safe operation, ease of use, and environmental friendliness, over conventional explosive methods. Moreover, as modern nonexplosive methods, hydraulic splitting machines and expansive chemical agents can generate pressure of up to 43 and 30–44 MPa to induce stresses in rocks, respectively. Owing to safety and environmental restrictions on conventional blasting, the application scope of the modern methods can be increased in the future.

With the launch of Sentinel-1 in 2014, a new era of openly accessible spaceborne radar imagery was begun, and its potential has been demonstrated throughout all fields of applications. However, while interferometric approaches to detect surface deformations are continuously being published, only a few studies address the derivation of digital elevation models (DEMs) from Sentinel-1 data. This is mainly because of the narrow orbital tube, which was primarily designed for subsidence measurements using differential interferometry. Nonetheless, the technical conditions are provided for successful applications involving DEM generation. These are outlined in the first part of this article with a focus on potential error sources and the impact of the most important constraints, namely, temporal and perpendicular baselines. The second part evaluates 21 studies on this topic, their aims, and how they dealt with error sources and the necessity of validation. These studies are then discussed based on the main challenges and potentials including how these can be tackled in the future to lay a solid foundation for scientific discourse. Graphical abstract

Soil cracks are one of the most important physical properties of soil. The formation of soil cracks is a result of interactions between the inner and external conditions of soil. Specifically, the inner conditions include physical and chemical properties of soil, and the external conditions refer to natural and anthropogenic factors. Previous studies of soil cracks mainly focus on the soil properties and the natural environment (NE), such as soil cracks produced by biotic and abiotic processes. Very few studies have focused on the soil environmental changes induced by other external conditions, such as geological processes and anthropogenic activity. To systematically illustrate the soil fissure, according to the characteristics of soil cracks, and considering the properties of soil preferential flow path, the geneses and the characteristics of soil cracks have been comprehensively analyzed and summarized in this study. Two major types of soil cracks have been proposed: one is the cracks caused by NE and the other is the cracks caused by anthropogenic activity. Additionally, based on the specific differences of these geneses, these two types of soil cracks have been further divided into six subtypes and fourteen sub-subtypes, respectively. In this article, a genetic classification method of soil cracks is systematically proposed, which provides a new approach for the related research of soil cracks.

Holocene records for the Asian Summer Monsoon (ASM) indicate that, apart for the last 2,000 years (“2 kyr shift”), solar insolation was the dominant factor controlling the monsoon climate. The aim of this review is to provide a synopsis of climate characteristics over the last 2 kyr, clarifying mechanisms for the diverse trend with Northern Hemisphere Summer Insolation (NHSI) records. Here, we initially review proxy-based climate reconstructions for the last 2 kyr, and then compare them with records from the last five interglacial periods. Finally, we examine potential physical mechanisms responsible for the “2 kyr shift.” Findings from this review indicate that the “2 kyr shift” is a representative pattern of Holocene climate change within the core area of the ASM, and the “2 kyr shift” could be mainly controlled by changes in atmospheric CO 2 concentration. In addition, suggestions to address a more humid condition dominating the Asian monsoonal margin zones are offered.

Applications of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have proliferated in the last decade due to the technological advancements on various fronts such as structure-from-motion (SfM), machine learning, and robotics. An important preliminary step with regard to forest inventory and management is individual tree detection (ITD), which is required to calculate forest attributes such as stem volume, forest uniformity, and biomass estimation. However, users may find adopting the UAVs and algorithms for their specific projects challenging due to the plethora of information available. Herein, we provide a step-by-step tutorial for performing ITD using (i) low-cost UAV-derived imagery and (ii) UAV-based high-density lidar (light detection and ranging). Functions from open-source R packages were implemented to develop a canopy height model (CHM) and perform ITD utilizing the local maxima (LM) algorithm. ITD accuracy assessment statistics and validation were derived through manual visual interpretation from high-resolution imagery and field-data-based accuracy assessment. As the intended audience are beginners in remote sensing, we have adopted a very simple methodology and chosen study plots that have relatively open canopies to demonstrate our proposed approach; the respective R codes and sample plot data are available as supplementary materials.

As geo-hazard monitoring data increases in category and size, conventional geo-hazard information management systems, without a unified integration framework and visualized data display, are unable to satisfy the urgent needs of geo-hazard information management. Representational State Transfer (REST), a resource-centered service architecture, abstracts data and services into resources for unified Uniform Resource Identifier access, enabling it to take full advantage of HTTP with great flexibility and scalability. Based on the REST service architecture, this paper constructs a 3D geo-hazard monitoring and early warning platform with sound service compatibility and scalability by integrating geographical information, real-time monitoring data, and early warning models into the 3D Digital Earth framework. The platform displays topography, stratum lithology, and relevant information, as well as real-time monitoring data in a 3D visual, and provides early warning services for geo-hazards through access to real-time early warning models. As a result, it is capable of providing comprehensive information management, monitoring, and early warning of multiple geo-hazards, aiding decision-making in disaster prevention and mitigation, and enhancing the information level of geo-hazard prevention and mitigation work.

Water management has become one of the major interests in arid and semi-arid regions. Scientists have suggested different criteria and methodologies for the identification of suitable dam sites. According to our literature review, we have used two major methodologies for the selection of suitable dam site location: geographic information system and remote sensing (GIS/RS) and multicriteria analysis (MCA) integrated with GIS/RS. The most common criteria used for the selection of suitable dam sites were slope, rainfall, land use land cover, soil type, lithology, lineament density, and hydrographic typology. All the factors were superimposed to prepare the synthesis map of water-harvesting structures, each thematic layer’s weight was determined, and storage water potential indices were calculated using water accumulation conditions. According to the water-harvesting location map, where the spatial distribution of the excellent (5%), very good (9%), and good (17%) aptitude classes is established in the northeast and central parts of the westward zone, the average located in the center of the zone. Study and weak are located south of the map; the area of moderate (25%) to poor (44%) suitability is situated in the south and southwest zone. The MCA was validated using an existing dam across the study area, where the MCA provides for the dam located in the good and moderate zones. The approach adopted in this study can be applied for any other location globally to identify potential dam-construction sites. From the point of view of the literature of multicriteria analyses of water recovery, areas unsuitable for surface water harvesting and dam projects are suitable for groundwater recharge.

A landscape is defined as a place which is remarkable because of one of these criteria (or several): esthetics, harmony with a habitus (quality of life), and environment. Also, groups support projects concerning this place. There is a “logical duel” to decide how to format the landscape. The paper focuses on the play of actors, in this context. There are a few theories in social sciences to describe the “changing actor” (how an actor changes his mind). In particular, we refer to the notions from the Latour’s sociology of networks, selection, translation, and role of actants. There is a “pressure” on landscapes to transform them in accordance with the needs of the Global Monopoly (defined as a model which is imitated worldwide). But it occurs that the outcome of a “logical duel” is not the formatting of a landscape in accordance with the pressure. It is explained by the “changing actor” and the success of some translation.