Description: Compared with microscopic indices such as biomass, inverted satellite images can reflect cyanobacterial blooms from a macroscopic perspective, can provide planar information for blooms, and can more definitely reflect the occurrence of visible cyanobacterial blooms. We therefore adopted inverted images (from MODIS imagery) to judge whether cyanobacterial blooms had occurred in a water area at a given time. We constructed two probit models for identifying significant environmental factors related to cyanobacterial bloom occurrence and for short-term forecasts of bloom occurrence. The models used the index of cyanobacterial bloom occurrence as the dependent variable and the predicted variable, respectively, and used three categories (water quality, hydrology, and weather) of monitoring variables as the independent variables (or predictive variables). We used the Hill Dagong water area of Lake Tai in China as a case study of the new methods. The results produced by the identification model are consistent with the general conclusions in this research field indicating the validity of the model. The mean relative error of the forecast model is 13.5%, which is close to or lower than that of two previous models. Compared with the previous models, our forecast model also has advantages in terms of spatial and temporal precision. The new models have both practical applicability and the ability to be generalized and can, therefore, be easily adapted for the prevention, control, and prediction of cyanobacterial blooms in other bodies of water.

Description: Integrated three-dimensional seismic, logging, sediment cores, and geochemical testing data were collected from Guangzhou Marine Geological Survey 3 and 4 hydrate drilling expeditions and used in this study for a comprehensive investigation of the geological and geophysical features and accumulation mechanism of hydrates in the first offshore gas-hydrate production test region (GHPTR) in the Shenhu area of the South China Sea. Seismic signatures indicative of disseminated hydrates and free gas include the bottom simulating reflector (BSR), gas chimney, and mud diapir associated with enhanced seismic reflections, acoustic blanking, masking, and chaotic appearance have been observed. The acoustic travel-time responses, density, and compensated neutron three porosity log analysis, high-precision grid tomography inversion analysis, and constrained sparse spike inversion confirm the presence of free gas below the gas-hydrate-bearing zone (GHBZ). Free-gas-bearing zones have significantly different p-wave impedances and low-velocity anomalies than the overlying GHBZ and surrounding strata. These anomalous zones are controlled by the structural attitude of the reservoir strata, which are characterized as inter-bedded stratigraphic units. Variations in the type and geological characteristics of the hydrocarbon migration pathways were observed between sites W18 and W19 on the western ridge and sites W11 and W17 on the eastern ridge in the GMGS study area. The efficiency of gas migration in the western ridge may be higher than that in the eastern ridge, resulting in variations in hydrate gas types, thickness of the GHBZ, and gas migration flux and accumulation. Except for site W11, hydrates were recovered below the structure I inferred BSR at sites W17, W18, and W19. The gas-hydrate stability zone calculations reveal that the structure I hydrate stability zone differs from the BSR depth and is generally shallower than the base of the logging anomaly, indicating the coexistence of structure I and II hydrates. The BSR is not indicative of the BGHSZ; it is rather regarded as a transitional indicator of structure I and II gas hydrates in the GHPTR. The appearance of free gas and hydrates below the structure I inferred BSR indicates that the Shenhu area is characterized by a complex hydrate formation and accumulation system resulting from the supply of biogenic and thermogenic gases. Despite fine-grained host sediments predominating the GHPTR, the coupling of favorable conditions including efficient hydrocarbon generation, sufficient gas supply, multiple pathways for gas migration, and relatively high reservoir porosity have led to the development of highly saturated gas-hydrate accumulations within relatively thick sedimentary sections, which demonstrates a significant resource potential.

Description: Research on the formation and distribution of submarine channel systems and associated gas-bearing fluids is of great significance for gas hydrate exploration. Disseminated gas hydrates with high saturation up to 65% were recovered from a submarine ridge, equivalent to the levee of the channel–levee system in the Shenhu area, northern South China Sea. Sedimentary deposits in the submarine ridge were dominated by fine-grained silt and clay-rich silt; gas hydrates with relatively high saturation preferentially accumulated in coarser sediments with less clay content. Although abundant foraminifera fossils may have increased reservoir pore space, their presence was not a necessary condition for high-saturation hydrates. Higher levels of pyrite appeared in the reservoirs corresponding to high-saturation hydrates, which suggests that the reducing environment caused by sufficient methane provided adequate gas to form higher-saturation hydrates. Because of the migration of the channel–levee system, different channels formed their respective depositional systems composed of channel-filling, buried channel-filling, erosion grooves, and slumped turbidities. Relatively coarse-grained deposits were identified in the channel fillings and levees, and the accumulation of hydrates was affected by the lithological features of the sediments and their spatial coupling with the gas hydrate stability zone (GHSZ). GHSZ modeling based on in situ measurements indicated that erosion and sedimentation, as well as variations of the geothermal gradient, resulted in the upward/downward migration of bottom simulating reflectors (BSRs). On the erosion flank of the channel, the strata thinned, and rapid erosion was likely to destroy the shallower BSR, causing gas hydrate decomposition and methane release, and may have caused turbidite slumping and seepage, whereas the strata thickened on the deposition flank of the channel. The BSR in the channel–levee system would gradually move toward the new GHSZ, eventually forming a new BSR; parts of the BSR that formed under the original P–T conditions have remained, and double BSRs occurred in the seismic profile. The thermal fluid that moved upward through a gas chimney may also have caused the migration of the GHSZ, resulting in the emergence of double BSRs. During the lateral migration of the channel and the vertical migration of the gas-bearing fluid, there was a dynamic adjustment relationship between the GHSZ and the erosion–deposition process of the channel, resulting in the dynamic accumulation of hydrates in the Shenhu area. A model to demonstrate the relationship between channel migration and variation of the BSR was established, which is of great significance for understanding the formation and accumulation mechanisms of gas hydrates.

Description: Author(s): Hong-Wei Li, Shuang Wang, Jing-Zheng Huang, Wei Chen, Zhen-Qiang Yin, Fang-Yi Li, Zheng Zhou, Dong Liu, Yang Zhang, Guang-Can Guo, Wan-Su Bao, and Zheng-Fu Han [Phys. Rev. A 84, 062308] Published Wed Dec 14, 2011

Description: Author(s): Yin Huang, Wei Zhang, Gao-Ren Wang, Ting Xie, and Shu-Lin Cong The formations of 85 Rb 2 molecules via photoassociation (PA) steered by two-color laser fields are explored theoretically in order to find an efficient and robust PA scheme. The PA processes steered by the PA pulses modulated by two Gaussian pulses and by two chirped pulses are discussed and compared... [Phys. Rev. A 86, 043420] Published Tue Oct 16, 2012