http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1674987111000156

Employing the Unit Soil Carbon Amount (USCA) approach, soil carbon storage was calculated across the Northeast Plain of China based on the Multi-purpose Regional Geochemical Survey conducted in 2004 – 2006 (MRGS). The results indicated that the soil organic carbon (SOC) storage in topsoil (0 – 0.2 m), subsoil (0 – 1 m) and deep soil (0 – 1.8 m) was 768.1 Mt, 2978.4 Mt and 3729.2 Mt with densities of 3327.8 t/km2, 12,904.7 t/km2 and 16,157.5 t/km2, respectively. These values were consistent with national averages, whereas the soil carbon densities showed a clear increasing trend from the southern area of the Northeast Plain (Liaoning), to the middle (Jilin) and the northern Plain (Heilongjiang) — particularly in terms of topsoil carbon density, which increased from 2284.2, to 3436.7 and 3861.5 t/km2, respectively. In comparison to carbon data obtained from the Second National Soil Survey in 1984 – 1986 (SNSS), the topsoil SOC storage values from the MRGS were found to have decreased by 320.59 Mt (29.4%), with an average annual decline of 16.0 Mt (l.73%) over the 20 years. In the southern, middle and northern areas of the plain, soil carbon densities decreased by 1060.6 t/km2, 1646.4 t/km2 and 1300.2 t/km2, respectively, with an average value of 1389.0 t/km2 for the whole plain. These findings indicate that the decrease in soil carbon density varied according to the different ecosystems and land use types. Therefore, ratios of soil carbon density were calculated in order to study the carbon dynamic balance between ecosystems, and to further explore distribution characteristics, as well as the sequestration potential of SOC.     

An information-fusion method to identify pattern of spatial heterogeneity for improving the accuracy of estimation

While spatial autocorrelation is used in spatial sampling survey to improve the precision of the feature’s estimate of a certain population at area units, spatial heterogeneity as the stratification frame in survey also often have a considerable effect upon the precision. Under the context of increasingly enriched spatiotemporal data, this paper suggests an information-fusion method to identify pattern of spatial heterogeneity, which can be used as an informative stratification for improving the estimation accuracy. Data mining is major analysis components in our method: multivariate statistics, association analysis, decision tree and rough set are used in data filter, identification of contributing factors, and examination of relationship; classification and clustering are used to identify pattern of spatial heterogeneity using the auxiliary variables relevant to the goal and thus to stratify the samples. These methods are illustrated and examined in the case study of the cultivable land survey in Shandong Province in China. Different from many stratification schemes which just uses the goal variable to stratify which is too simplified, information from multiple sources can be fused to identify pattern of spatial heterogeneity, thus stratifying samples at geographical units as an informative polygon map, and thereby to increase the precision of estimates in sampling survey, as demonstrated in our case research.     

Implications of sensor design for coral reef detection: Upscaling ground hyperspectral imagery in spatial and spectral scales

Remote sensing offers a potential tool for large scale environmental surveying and monitoring. However, remote observations of coral reefs are difficult especially due to the spatial and spectral complexity of the target compared to sensor specifications as well as the environmental implications of the water medium above. The development of sensors is driven by technological advances and the desired products. Currently, spaceborne systems are technologically limited to a choice between high spectral resolution and high spatial resolution, but not both. The current study explores the dilemma of whether future sensor design for marine monitoring should prioritise on improving their spatial or spectral resolution. To address this question, a spatially and spectrally resampled ground-level hyperspectral image was used to test two classification elements: (1) how the tradeoff between spatial and spectral resolutions affects classification; and (2) how a noise reduction by majority filter might improve classification accuracy. The studied reef, in the Gulf of Aqaba (Eilat), Israel, is heterogeneous and complex so the local substrate patches are generally finer than currently available imagery. Therefore, the tested spatial resolution was broadly divided into four scale categories from five millimeters to one meter. Spectral resolution resampling aimed to mimic currently available and forthcoming spaceborne sensors such as (1) Environmental Mapping and Analysis Program (EnMAP) that is characterized by 25 bands of 6.5 nm width; (2) VENμS with 12 narrow bands; and (3) the WorldView series with broadband multispectral resolution. Results suggest that spatial resolution should generally be prioritized for coral reef classification because the finer spatial scale tested (pixel size < 0.1 m) may compensate for some low spectral resolution drawbacks. In this regard, it is shown that the post-classification majority filtering substantially improves the accuracy of all pixel sizes up to the point where the kernel size reaches the average unit size (pixel < 0.25 m). However, careful investigation as to the effect of band distribution and choice could improve the sensor suitability for the marine environment task. This in mind, while the focus in this study was on the technologically limited spaceborne design, aerial sensors may presently provide an opportunity to implement the suggested setup.     

The Digital National Framework and Digital Photogrammetry at Ordnance Survey

Over recent months the Ordnance Survey, Britain's national mapping agency, has changed the way in which it uses photogrammetry to update its large scales topographic database. The nature of the database itself has also changed during the same period, as the concept of a "Digital National Framework" has developed. This paper describes the Digital National Framework, the topographic data captured by Ordnance Survey within this framework and the capture methods currently used. The paper concentrates on the use of photogrammetry in the update process, describing the methods of the past, the methods currently in production, and the outlook for photogrammetry within the Ordnance Survey in future.     

Numerical modelling of the morphological response induced by low-crested structures in Lido di Dante,Italy

This paper analyses the morphological response induced by low-crested structures on the adjacent seabed, with particular interest in the erosion patterns that frequently develop at gaps and roundheads. The mechanisms responsible for erosion processes are examined by means of morphodynamic simulations with the numerical suite MIKE 21 CAMS developed by DHI Water & Environment. The main purpose of the paper is to verify how and how far a commercial code can predict bed evolution, in vicinity of defence structures in a real case, in order to get information that may be very useful for structure design and possible maintenance of existing works. The code is applied to a long-term simulation on a study site that is characterized by a composite intervention and suffers from severe erosion, Lido di Dante (Italy). The simulation covers the period (one year and a half) between two available multi-beam surveys, in order to have a detailed real bathymetry as starting point and another one, as accurate as the first, to compare numerical with surveyed results. All the other input data for the model, as waves, tide, wind and sediment characteristics, are derived from measurements in the area; moreover, the code is calibrated using wave and current data acquired during a field campaign. The bed evolution derived from simulations shows a good agreement with the survey both in the locations and in the intensity of erosive and depositional areas. A sensitivity analysis of results to some selected modelling parameters is performed on a shorter simulation period (one month), showing that accounting for bed slope in sediment transport modelling has greater effects in bathymetry evolution than the use of a complex sediment bathymetry or the representation of wave diffraction.     

黄海海洋环境调查及其主要结果

本文系将我国几十年来在黄海、渤海和东海北部,开展海洋环境调查的情况与主要结果,作一简要回顾。     

Two decades of measuring environmental attitudes: A comparative analysis of 33 countries

This paper analyzes the development of environmental concern by using the three waves of the environmental modules of the International Social Survey Programme. First, we discuss the measurement of environmental concern and construct a ranking of countries according to the new 2010 results. Second, we analyze the determinants of environmental concern by employing multilevel models that take individual as well as context effects into account. Third, we explore the longitudinal aspect of the data at the macro level in order to uncover the causal relation between countries’ wealth and environmental concern. The results show that environmental concern is closely correlated with the wealth of the nations. However, environmental concern decreased in almost all nations slightly during the last two decades. The decline was lower in countries with improving economic conditions suggesting that economic growth helps to maintain higher levels of environmental concern.     

Who remembers a hot summer or a cold winter? The asymmetric effect of beliefs about global warming on perceptions of local climate conditions in the U.S.

This paper explores the phenomenon of local climate perception and the extent to which public perceptions match climate conditions as recorded in instrumental climate data. We further examine whether perceptions of changes in local climates are influenced by prior beliefs about global warming, through the process of motivated reasoning. Using national survey data collected in the United States in 2011, we find that subjective experiences of seasonal average temperature and precipitation during the previous winter and summer were related to recorded conditions during each season. Beliefs about global warming also had significant effects on subjective experiences with above-normal temperatures, particularly among those who believed that global warming is not happening. When asked about the summer of 2010, those who believed that global warming is not happening were significantly less likely to report that they had experienced a warmer-than-normal summer, even when controlling for demographics and local climate conditions. These results suggest that the subjective experience of local climate change is dependent not only on external climate conditions, but also on individual beliefs, with perceptions apparently biased by prior beliefs about global warming.     

20世纪50年代初地质机构变革的考证和思考

原中央地质调查所、中央研究院地质研究所和资源委员会矿产测勘处都曾为中国地质事业的发展作出过重要贡献。但是,在1949年以前总体地质人员少、部门分散。为解决解放初期矿产资源紧缺和地质人员短缺的矛盾,1950年8月经政务院批准成立了中国地质工作计划指导委员会,及其领导下的矿产地质勘探局、中国科学院地质研究所和古生物研究所,开始了地质界一元化的机构改革。1951年5月7日新成立的三个机构开始运行,在运行初期实行地质研究人员的双重身份制度,即在矿产地质勘探局为技正,在研究所为研究员。1952年6月初步确定了各单位内设机构和人员,同时各专业地质队陆续成立,开始了人员的再次分配。1952年8月地质部成立,矿产地质勘探局,逐步转变为地质部的不同部门,地质研究所和古生物研究所全面接受地质部的领导。原中央地质调查所在这次变革中人员被分散到新成立的三个部门和有关单位,原来的内设机构被彻底分解,事实上被撤销。原中央地质调查所在长期实践中形成了以调查为本、调查与研究紧密相结合的研究风格和特色,在解放初期,不论是矿产地质勘探局还是中科院地质研究所和古生物研究所都围绕国家急需的矿产资源开展工作,都谈不上与中央地质调查所的机构传承关系。