THE CHARACTERISTIC OF MARINE ENVIRONMENT IN LINGDINGYANG ESTUARY

1 HYDROLOGIC FEATURES Lingdingyang Estuary, located at the middle south of Guangdong Province, is a bell-shaped estuary with a north-south direction. Its area is about 2100km2. The north of Qi′ao Island and Inner-Lingding Island, and the south of Humen are grouped as Neilingdingyang Estuary, having an area of 1041km2. Affected by topography, runoff and tide, its dynamic condition is very complicated. Different water areas have different hydrologic features. The topography under …     

Analysis of Mixing of Pollutants in Water Waves and Currents

A vertical two-dimensional turbulence numerical model for the interaction of waves and currents is developed in the paper based on the nonlinear two-equation k-ε model with the VOF method.The one-dimensional equivalent advection velocity and equivalent mixing coefficient are defined and the solving process is introduced:The pollutant concentration field,generated by an instant source in waves and currents,is calculated with the model,and then the equivalent advection velocity and equivalent mixing coefficient are obtained by calculating the time derivative of the mean and variance of pollutant concentration probability distribution.The effects of wave period and wave height on the equivalent mixing coefficient for waves and wave-currents are also investigated.     

Hydrocarbons in bivalve mollusks of Port Valdez, Alaska: Consequences of five years' permitted discharge

Petroleum hydrocarbons were investigated in Mytilus edulis and Macoma balthica at six intertidal sites in Port Valdez, Alaska after three to five years of oil terminal operation. Information about the concentrations of total hydrocarbons, unresolved complex mixture, normal alkanes, isoprenoids, olefins, hopanes and polycyclic aromatic hyrocarbons shows that petroleum accumulation in these bivalve mollusks is greatest at the Valdez municipal boat harbor and a crude oil terminal which has been permitted to discharge 170 kg oil day⁻¹. Accumulation two- to ten-fold less were observed at 3 km from the terminal and boat harbor. The temporal trends in petroleum hydrocarbon concentrations in M. edulis and M. balthica reflect the effects of selective retention and depuration of different hydrocarbon classes as well as variation in hydrocarbon sources. It is not clear whether the petroleum concentrations in Port Valdez bivalves had reached steady state by 1982, the final sampling time reported here.     

Simulation of Pollutant Transport in Marmaris Bay

The circulation pattern and the pollutant transport in the Marmaris Bay are simulated by the developed three-dimensional baroclinic model. The Marmaris Bay is located at the Mediterranean Sea coast of Turkey. Since the sp ring tidal range is typically 20- 30 cm, the dominant forcing for the circulation and water exchange is due to the wind action. In the Marmaris Bay, there is sea outfall discharging directly into the bay. and that threats the bay water quality significantly. The current patterns in the vicinity of the outfall have been observed by tracking drogues which are moved by currents at different water depths. In the simulations of pollutant transport, the coliforms-counts is used as the tracer. The model provides realistic predictions for the circulation and pollutant transport in the Marmaris Bay. The transport model component predictions well agree with the results of a laboratory model study.     

Geomorphic effects of rural-to-urban land use conversion on three streams in the Central Redbed Plains of Oklahoma

This research evaluates the impact of rural-to-urban land use conversion on channel morphology and riparian vegetation for three streams in the Central Redbed Plains geomorphic province (central Great Plains ecoregion) of Oklahoma. The Deep Fork Creek watershed is largely urbanized; the Skeleton Creek watershed is largely rural; and the Stillwater Creek watershed is experiencing a rapid transition from rural to urban land cover. Each channel was divided into reaches based on tributary junctions, sinuosity, and slope. Field surveys were conducted at transects in a total of 90 reaches, including measurements of channel units, channel cross-section at bankfull stage, and riparian vegetation. Historical aerial photographs were available for only Stillwater Creek watershed, which were used to document land cover in this watershed, especially changes in the extent of urban areas (impervious cover).The three streams have very low gradients (< 0.001), width-to-depth ratios < 10, and cohesive channel banks, but have incised into red Permian shales and sandstone. The riparian vegetation is dominated by cottonwoods, ash, and elm trees that provide a dense root mat on stream banks where the riparian vegetation is intact. Channels increased in width and depth in the downstream direction as is normally expected, but the substrate materials and channel units remained unchanged. Statistical analyses demonstrated that urbanization did not explain spatial patterns of changes in any variables. These three channels in the central Redbed Plains are responding as flumes during peak flows, funneling runoff and the wash-load sediment downstream in major runoff events without any effect on channel dimensions. Therefore, local geological conditions (similar bedrock, cohesive substrates and similar riparian vegetation) are mitigating the effects of urbanization.     

Structural and nutritional heterogeneity of riparian vegetation in Patagonia (Argentina) in relation to seasonal grazing by sheep

Riparian meadows of southern Patagonia are temporally and spatially heterogeneous habitats. They are thought to play a key role in regulating the dynamics of arid grazed steppes of the region. We conducted a 2-year study with sheep to determine the influence of two grazing conditions (deferment and spring grazing) on structural and nutritional parameters of three vegetation types apparently associated with a soil moisture gradient in a riparian meadow in southern Santa Cruz (Argentina). Spring deferment allowed forage accumulation in very moist and intermediate vegetation types by the beginning of the summer and had no detrimental impact on forage quality. Deferment had no effect on biomass accumulation of the drier vegetation type at our study site. Structural attributes of the vegetation appeared to affect spatial grazing patterns of sheep. Soil-related patchiness, rather than sheep grazing, appeared to control vegetation structure and nutritional value. The proportion of more mesic plant communities in riparian habitats of Patagonia could determine the outcome of plant–animal interactions in these systems. Practical recommendations of grazing capacity in paddocks, or more theoretical considerations of ecosystem dynamics of the Patagonian steppes need to explicitly consider the internal patchiness of riparian habitats.     

成都市生态环境地球化学特点

成都平原多目标地球化学调查表明，成都市区土壤Hg、Ag、Pb、Cu、Zn、Sb、P、S、Se、C、Sr、Mo、Na2O等13种元素和河流水系沉积物P、Hg、S、Zn、Pb、Cu、Mo等有机质、N、Cd、Cr等11种高含量元素，土壤中主要污染元素Hg、Pb、Zn、Cu的含量，在浅层样中较高，其污染状况市区内及工厂区比城郊严重，府河，南河的污染比沙河严重，但其污泥可以综合利用，研究表明，东部龙泉山区深层样丰富的农业有益元素为水果生长提供了有利条件。     

Riparian alder fens — source or sink for nutrients and dissolved organic carbon? — 2. Major sources and sinks

Natural riparian forest wetlands are known to be effective in their ability to remove nitrate by denitrification and sediments with attached phosphorus via sedimentation. On the other hand, litter input and decomposition is a process of crucial importance in cycling of nitrogen and phosphorus in a forest ecosystem.In this study we investigated the amount of nitrogen and phosphorus entering the alder fen ecosystem through leaf litter and its decomposition and the removal capacity of nitrogen and phosphorus by measuring denitrification and sedimentation in the alder fen.We found an average input of leaf litter during fall 1998 of 226 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ DW with nutrient concentration of 0.17% P and 1.6% N. This means a yearly input of 0.4 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ P and 3.6 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ N. The decomposition of leaf litter using litter bags with small and large mesh size resulted in bags with macroinvertebrates (large mesh size) and without macroinvertebrates (small mesh size). After 57 days the litter bags with macroinvertebrates had a decomposition rate of 79%.Denitrification was measured in May and June of 1997 using the acetylene inhibition technique on intact soil cores and slurry-experiments. The average annual denitrification rate was 0.2 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ N using data from the core experiments. The denitrification rate was higher after addition of nitrate, indicating that denitrification in the riparian alder fen is mainly controlled by nitrate supply.The sedimentation rate in the investigated alder fen ranged from 0.47 kg m⁻² yr⁻¹ DW to 4.46 kg m⁻² yr⁻¹ DW in 1998 depending on the study site and method we used. Sedimentation rates were lower in newly designed plate traps than in cylinder traps. The alder fen also showed lower rates than the adjacent creek Briese. Average phosphorus removal rate was 0.33 g m⁻² yr⁻¹ P.Input sources for the surface water of the alder fen are sediment mineralization and decomposition of leaf litter; output sources are sedimentation and denitrification. This study showed that a nutrient input of 24.58 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ N, 8.8 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ P and 419 kg ha⁻¹ yr⁻¹ DOC into the surface water of the alder fen is possible. Alder fens cannot improve water quality of an adjacent river system. This is only true for a nearly pristine alder fen with the hydrology of 10 months flooded conditions and 2 months non-flooding conditions a year.     

北江大堤植草护坡效应研究

北江大堤在航运的浪涛侵蚀以及洪水和雨水的冲蚀下，部分河段边坡已变得支离破碎，对广州和珠江三角洲地区的防洪安全构成了严重威胁。香根草和百喜草都能耐较长时间的水淹，并都有较强的抗逆性。结合土石方工程，并辅以三维网覆盖，将香根草和百喜种在北江两岸的边坡上。结果，这一护坡措施不仅有较地防止了洪流冲蚀和雨水侵蚀，较好地起到了固土护坡作用，而且绿化美化了河岸边坡，成功解决了河湖水库的河岸带难以植被覆盖的难题。     

Characterisation of riparian woodlands and their potential water loss in the distal Okavango Delta, Botswana

An analysis is undertaken to develop techniques to remotely sense relative evapotranspiration outputs in the distal Okavango Delta using enhanced thematic mapper and ground based techniques to help quantify water loss. Much of this work focuses on riparian woodlands which, especially in the distal portion of the Delta, are regarded as being significant in terms of groundwater removal by transpiration. This was confirmed as vegetation cover mapping led to the identification of two riparian classes which, by association with high resistivity aeromagnetic data, were found to be rooted in near surface fresh groundwater. This paper indicates that riparian trees which remain green year long, partly sustain their growth as a result of groundwater uptake. A comparison of frequently flooded and dry floodplains with distinct riparian zones was undertaken using spectral techniques (pixel radiance values and leaf water content indices) to determine whether flooding and lateral groundwater flow stimulated growth (and therefore transpiration rate) following dormancy. Results indicate a basic similarity between the two systems with mixed evidence of assumed leaf growth. Related phenological observations in the riparian zone of the dry floodplain show that renewal of leaf growth is primarily related to rainfall, not flood events in the distal Delta. The results of this work should help effect both surface and groundwater management in the vicinity of population centres in the distal Delta.