Chemical mass transfer from the Changjiang River to the sea

1. The nonanthropogenic SO₄ in the Changjiang River stems from weathering and oxidation of sulphate and sulphite minerals, while the anthropogenic SO₄ here is attributed to acid rain containing H₂SO₄ formed by atmospheric sulphur oxides derived from the burning of fossil fuels in the region of the lower reaches. Ca and Mg are probably derived from weathering of carbonate minerals, but possibly less from weathering of silicate minerals.
2. The Changjiang River estuary is characterized by two—layer flow based on the salinity section of the estuary, so a model of two—layer exchange of water—body in the Changjiang River estuary can be advanced.
3. The presence of SO₄ and K at stations H₁₄ and H₁₅ were found most likely to be due to the addition and removal processes, that of the other major consituents may be mainly controlled by physical mixing in this estuary.

     

An approach to the transgressive sedimentary pattern of the present continental shelf

On the basis of our study of the present sediments in the northern part of the continental shelf of the South China Sea, this article clarifies our views that a "three-zone pattern" is the basic feature of transgression-type sedimentation.The classification of transgression-type sedimentation of the present continental shelf is based on: the close relationships between the formation of the present continental shelf and the position of the low sea level of the Wiirrn glacial stage, the genetic types and environmental features of sedimentary zoning, the relationship between the formation of glauconite with different maturity and the migration of coastline, the speed of transgression, and the overlying speed of sedimentation. We put forward the genetic name of the "three-zone pattern" to denote:1.The inner zouu, river mouth-coastal current sedimentary area;2.The intermediate zone, coastal current-sea current scouring-sedimentary area;3.The outer zone, sea current scouring area.All these are of significance     

Distribution and migration of the common squidTodarodes pacificus in the Yellow Sea

Study of the distribution and migration of the common squid,Todarodes pacificus Steenstrup,basedon the index of important fishing ground(P) and fisheries statistics on the Yellow Sea and northern EastChina Sea during 1980—1991 showed that:1.Its catch in the fishing period(June to November) is 91.77% of the annual yield.The fishingground distributes over the northem and middle Yel1ow Sea and adjacent area of the Changjiang Estuary.2. It over-winters in the northem East China Sea and waters adjacent to Goto Island from De-cember to February and spawns in waters near Haijiao Is1and and west of Kyushu. The main stock mi-grates along 123°30′E to the ChangJiang Estuary, Haizhou Bay. offsea from Shidao to Qingdao,mideastern Yellow Sea, and offsea Weihai and Haiyang Island succesively for feeding after April. The sur-plus stock migrates again to the wintering ground in December.3.The favorable feeding temperature is 6-23℃(optimum of l3-20℃ in the Changjiang Estua-ry and 7-13℃ in the northern and middle Yel     

Bioreactor technology for production of valuable algal products

INTRODUCTIONManystudiesonvascularplantSduringthenontwperiodhavedrireP0redinChinaandabroad.TherearefeWreportSonwhethertherearesomevasctilarplantS,andhowmanyspedessurvive,underice,andontheirbiomassesandphotosyntheticproduCtivitiesduringwinter,espedal1yduringbeAfpinchLillyamepe0ylenctal.,l976,Liuetal.,l994).WeimtlycarriedoutaseadriontheunderforvascularplantsdurinwinderinsomewaterbodieswherevascularplantSgrowluxdrianhydurinInildareonsinnorthemareas,soastoimproveourknowedgeofvascularplaflt…     

Vertical zonation of horticultural farming in the Alaknanda basin of Garhwal Himalaya, India

Introduction In the Alakananda Basin, undulating terrain constitutes the most fragile elements of the ecosystem. Traditional economy rests on the terraced cultivation with extremely limited viability to expansion and modernization. Consequently, low economic return remains the characteristic feature of the agrarian landscape. It is the common experience that the ecological conditions of the basin are more suited to fruit cultivation rather than cereal farming (Atkinson 1889). Along with frui…     

The movement of bed-load discharge near the shore of Shijiu harbour

Shijiu Harbour is to be constructed at southern Shandong as an important shipping center with a docking capacity of 100 thousand tonnages of a single vessel.Tides and tidal currents were frequently observed at three different layers from December 1979 to April 1980. Bed-load discharge was sampled and calculated for different weather conditions. Some of the results are as follows:1. The amount of bed-load discharge is 0.1359 g/cm2/day during the spring tide, 0.09 g/cm2/day during the neap tide, 0.488 g/cm2/day during storm weather, which is four times as high as that during average tides.2. The maximum amount of the sediments that settle to the waterway is less than 46.7768 g/cm2 per year, therefore the waterway will not be blocked by the transported sand and clay even after a storm weather.     

Geochemistry of re and trace elements in ferromanganese nodules and their genesis

Trace and RE element geochemistry and genesis have been studied with respect to ferromanganese nodules from the sediments of the Pacific, Atlantic and Indian oceans.     

Characteristics of organic geochemistry of sediments in the northern part of the South Huanghai Sea

It is known that the organic matter in the upper layer of sediments gets lost fast, but not in the South Huanghai Sea (Yellow sea). Some of the major characteristics of organic geochemistry of sediments in the South Huanghai Sea can be summarized as follows:1. The contents of organic carbon and bitumen increase with the decrease in grain size.2.Loss of organic matter is closely related to grain size but less so in clay sediments.3.The contents of bitumen and hydrocarbon are low, about n ×102 ppm for bitumen and n ×10 ppm for hydrocarbon.A scattered show of organic matter does not necessarily indicate the presence of petroleum in recent marine sediments.In research into the genesis of petroleum, people pay more attention to the study of the organic geochemistry of recent marine sediments. How much organic materials was lost during the deposition up to the diagenesis ? The problem is as important as the study on the transformation of organic matter. This study on the organic geochemistry of the sediment     

Analysis of Yellow Sea low-frequency current variation

Low frequency (LF) current (period>25 hour) variation at 5 stations in Jiaozhou Bay. Shijiousuo, and the central part of the Yellow Sea were studied by analyzing the observed long-period current data series in the study area.1) There are obvious periods of 3 and 5 days in the LF current spectra. The energy spectral value of LF current of a 5 day period is remarkably larger than that of a 3 day period. These periods reflect the correlations between the LF current variation and the LF water level variation.2) The feet that the 15-day period in the LF current spectra corresponds to the semi-monthly celestial tide period indicates that the tide-induced residual current is an important and most evident LF current component in the bay.3) The LF current spectral energy density in the northward direction is much larger than that in the eastward direction. This shows the frequency and strength of the wind field in the northward direction are evidently larger than that in the eastward direction.     

Cadmium flux and genotoxicity in an experimental marine food chain

Cadmium flux through a lab food chain (Phaeodactylum tricornutum Bohlin- Penaeus orientate Kishinouye- Hexagrammos otakii Jordan et Starks) and its genotoxicity were investigated. The results are as follows:1. High doses of cadmium (>0.003 mol / L) induced flocculation and quick precipitation of Phaeodactylum tricornutum; lower doses of cadmium could be adsorbed on and absorbed by P. tricornutum without delaying its growth. Cadmium concentrations in algae increased with dosage, and cadmium ions removed from the medium were in proportion to dosage. In vivo chelation and organizable combination of absorbed cadmium ions by metabolites of P. tricornutum can be considered as bio-detoxification.2. Cadmium concentration decreased in the transfers from P. tricornutum to P. orientalis and from the latter to H. otakii. Transfer coefficient of cadmium in the first flux was 66.6% and 29.9% in the second. Results of t tests showed that mutagenicity of ashed internal organs of experimental prawns was significantly hi     

The internal hydrographic structure of the Huanghai cold water mass (HCWM) in summer

The deep and bottom water within the Huanghai Cold Water Mass (HCWM) in summer was, for a long time, considered as a homogeneous body of water. Various investigations in recent years showed this may not be true.After a detailed analysis of the most recently obtained refined CTD data and other historical hydrographic data at our disposal, some significant results have been obtained.1.It is definitely shown that the Huanghai Warm Current (HWC) did not enter the HCWM in summer. However, there exist two types of second class water masses within the HCWM in summer. They are: (1) a water mass with low temperature and low salinity, which was formed in the preceding winter by a vertical mixing process locally, and (2) a water mass of relatively high temperature and high salinity, which is the remanent body of the HWC that entered the HCWM in preceding seasons, but was completely cut off from its source in summer. The spreading of these two water masses, the existence of a frontal zone at the boundary of the two     

Chemical constituents of marine mangrove-derived endophytic fungus Alternaria tenuissima EN-192

A chemical investigation of the ethyl acetate extract of the fermentation broth of Alternaria tenuissima EN-192,an endophytic fungus obtained from the stems of the marine mangrove plant Rhizophora stylosa,resulted in the isolation of nine known secondary metabolites,including four indole-diterpenoids:penijanthine A(1),paspaline(2),paspalinine(3),and penitrem A(4);three tricycloalternarene derivatives:tricycloalternarene 3a(5),tricycloalternarene 1b(6),and tricycloalternarene 2b(7);and two alternariol congeners:djalonensone(8) and alternariol(9).The chemical structures of these metabolites were characterized through a combination of detailed spectroscopic analyses and their comparison with reports from the literature.The inhibitory activities of each isolated compound against four bacteria were evaluated and compounds 5 and 8 displayed moderate activity against the aquaculture pathogenic bacterium Vibrio anguillarum,with inhibition zone diameters of 8 and 9 mm,respectively,at 100 μg/disk.To the best of our knowledge,this is the first report on the secondary metabolites of mangrove-derived Alternaria tenuissima and also the first report of the isolation of indole-diterpenoids from fungal genus Alternaria.     

Chemical profile of the secondary metabolites produced by a deep-sea sediment-derived fungus Penicillium commune SD-118

Bioassay-guided fractionation of the crude extract from Penicillium commune SD-118, a fungus obtained from a deep-sea sediment sample, resulted in the isolation of a known antibacterial compound, xanthocillin X (1), and 14 other known compounds comprising three steroids (2-4), two ceramides (5 and 6), six aromatic compounds (7-12), and three alkaloids (13-15). Xanthocillin X (1) was isolated for the first time from a marine fungus. In the bioassay, xanthocillin X (1) displayed remarkable antimicrobial activity against Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli, and significant cytotoxicity against MCF-7, HepG2, H460, Hela, Du145, and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. Meleagrin (15) exhibited cytotoxicity against HepG2, Hela, Du145, and MDA-MB-231 cell lines. This is the first report of the cytotoxicity of xanthocillin X (1).     

Estimation of soil reinforcement by the roots of four post-dam prevailing grass species in the riparian zone of Three Gorges Reservoir,China

Soil erosion and bank degradation is a major post-dam concern regarding the riparian zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir. The development and succession of vegetation is a main countermeasure,especially to enhance bank stability and mitigate soil erosion by the root system. In this study, the roots of four prevailing grass species, namely, Cynodon dactylon, Hemarthria altissima, Hemarthria compressa, and Paspalum paspaloides, in the riparian zone were investigated in relation to additional soil cohesion. Roots were sampled using a single root auger. Root length density(RLD) and root area ratio(RAR) were measured by using the Win RHIZO image analysis system. Root tensile strength(TR) was performed using a manualdynamometer, and the soil reinforcement caused by the roots was estimated using the simple Wu's perpendicular model. Results showed that RLD values of the studied species ranged from 0.24 cm/cm3 to20.89 cm/cm3 at different soil layers, and RLD were significantly greater at 0–10 cm depth in comparison to the deeper soil layers(10 cm). RAR measurements revealed that on average 0.21% of the reference soil area was occupied by grass roots for all the investigated species. The measured root tensile strength was the highest for P. paspaloides(62.26MPa) followed by C. dactylon(51.49 MPa), H.compressa(50.66 MPa), and H. altissima(48.81MPa). Nevertheless, the estimated maximum root reinforcement in this investigation was 22.5 k Pa for H.altissima followed by H. compressa(21.1 k Pa), P.paspaloides(19.5 k Pa), and C. dactylon(15.4 k Pa) at0–5 cm depth soil layer. The root cohesion values estimated for all species were generally distributed at the 0–10 cm depth and decreased with the increment of soil depth. The higher root cohesion associated with H. altissima and H. compressa implies their suitability for revegetation purposes to strengthen the shallow soil in the riparian zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir. Although the soil reinforcement induced by roots is only assessed from indirect indicators, the present results still useful for species selection in the framework of implementing and future vegetation recovery actions in the riparian zone of the Three Gorges Reservoir and similar areas in the Yangtze River Basin.     

Secondary metabolites of a deep sea derived fungus Aspergillus versicolor CXCTD-06-6a and their bioactivity

In order to obtain novel secondary metabolites, a deep sea inhabiting fungus Aspergillus versicolor CXCTD-06-6a was investigated. One new diketopiperazine brevianamide W(1a), as well as five known diketopiperazine alkaloids, diketopiperazine V(1b), brevianamide Q(2), brevianamide R(3), brevianamide K(4), and brevianamide E(5), were isolated from the Et OAc extract of the fermentation broth. Their structures were elucidated by spectroscopy techniques(NMR, MS). The six compounds exhibited moderate radical scavenging activity against DPPH with clearance ratio of 55.0%(1a and 1b), 53.7%(2), 46.2%(3), 61.4%(4) and 19.3%(5) at a concentration of 13.9 μmol L-1, respectively; while the positive control ascorbic acid showed a ratio of 70.3% at the concentration of 28.4 μmol L-1.     

Effects of vegetation type on surface elevation change in Liaohe River Delta wetlands facing accelerated sea level rise

Rising sea levels threaten the sustainability of coastal wetlands around the globe. The ability of coastal marshes to maintain their position in the intertidal zone depends on the accumulation of both organic and inorganic materials, and vegetation is important in these processes. To study the effects of vegetation type on surface elevation change, we measured surface accretion and elevation change from 2011 to 2016 using rod surface elevation table and feldspar marker horizon method(RSET-MH) in two Phragmites and two Suaeda marshes in the Liaohe River Delta. The Phragmites marshes exhibited higher rates of surface accretion and elevation change than the Suaeda marshes. The two Phragmites marsh sites had average surface elevation change rates at 8.78 mm/yr and 9.26 mm/yr and surface accretion rates at 17.56 mm/yr and 17.88 mm/yr, respectively. At the same time, the two Suaeda marsh sites had average surface elevation change rates at 5.77 mm/yr and 5.91 mm/yr and surface accretion rates at 13.42 mm/yr and 14.38 mm/yr, respectively. The elevation change rates in both the Phragmites marshes and the Suaeda marshes in the Liaohe River Delta could keep pace and even continue to gain elevation relative to averaged sea level rise in the Bohai Sea reported by the 2016 State Oceanic Administration, People's Republic of China projection(2.4–5.5 mm/yr) in current situations. Our data suggest that vegetation is important in the accretionary processes and vegetation type could regulate the wetland surface elevation. However, the vulnerability of coastal wetlands in the Liaohe River Delta need further assessment considering the accelerated sea level rise, the high rate of subsidence, and the declining sediment delivery, especially for the Suaeda marshes.     

Allometric equations of select tree species of the Tibetan Plateau,China

The Tibetan forest is one of the most important national forest zones in China. Despite the potentially important role that Tibetan forest will play in the Earth?s future carbon balance and climate regulation, few allometric equations exist for accurately estimating biomass and carbon budgets of this forest. In the present study, allometric equations,both species-specific and generic, were developed relating component biomass(DW) to diameter at breast height(DBH) and tree height(H) for six most common tree species in Tibetan forest. The 6 species were Abies georgei Orr., Picea spinulosa(Griff.)Henry, Pinus densata Mast., Pinus yunnanensis Franch., Cypresses funebris Endl. and Quercus semecarpifilia Smith.. The results showed that, both DBH-only and DBH2 H based species-specific equations showed a significant fit(P0.05) for all tree species and biomass components. The DBH-only equations explained more than 80% variability of the component biomass and total biomass, adding H as a second independent variable increased the goodness of fit, while incorporating H into the term DBH2 H decreased the goodness of fit. However, not all DBH-H combined equations showed a significant fit(P0.05) for all tree species and biomass components. Hence, the suggested species-specific allometric equations for the six most common tree species are of the form ln(DW) = c + αln(DBH). The generalized equations of mixed coniferous component biomass against DBH, DBH2 H and DBH-H also showed a significant fit(P0.05) for all biomass components. However, due to significant species effect, the relative errors of the estimates were very high. Hence, generalized equations should only be used when there are too many different tree species, or there is no species-specific model of the same species or similar growth form in adjacent area.     

Structures and antiviral activities of butyrolactone derivatives isolated from Aspergillus terreus MXH-23

A new butyrolactone derivative, namely butyrolactone VIII(1), and six known butyrolactones(2-7) were separated from the ethyl acetate(Et OAc) extract of the fermentation broth of a fungus, Aspergillus terreus MXH-23. The chemical structures of these metabolites were identified by analyzing their nuclear magnetic resonance(NMR) and mass spectrometry(MS). Known butyrolactone derivatives contain an α,β-unsaturated γ-lactone ring with α-hydroxyl and γ-benzyl, and butyrolactone VIII(1) was the first butyrolactones contains α-benzyl and γ-hydroxyl on α,β-unsaturated lactone ring. All of the butyrolactone derivatives were tested for their anti-influenza(H1N1) effects. Derivatives 4 and 7 showed moderate antiviral activities while the newly-identified, derivative 1, did not.     

Predicting the impact of climate change on the distribution of two threatened Himalayan medicinal plants of Liliaceae in Nepal

Predicting the potential distribution of medicinal plants in response to climate change is essential for their conservation and management. Contributing to the management program, this study aimed to predict the distribution of two threatened medicinal plants, Fritillaria cirrhosa and Lilium nepalense. The location of focal species gathered from herbarium specimen housed in different herbaria and online databases were geo-referenced and checked for spatial autocorrelation. The predictive environmental variables were selected, and MaxEnt software was used to model the current and future distributions of focal species. Four Representative Concentration Pathway (RCP) trajectories of the BCC-CSM1.1 model were used as the future (2050) projection layer. The MaxEnt modelling delineated the potential distribution of F. cirrhosa and L. nepalense. The current suitability is projected towards Central and Eastern Hilly/Mountainous regions. Both species gain maximum suitability in RCP 4.5 which decline towards other trajectories for L. nepalense. Overall, both the focal species shift towards the north-west, losing their potential habitat in hilly and lower mountainous regions by 2050 across all trajectories. Our results highlight the impact of future climate change on two threatened and valuable species. The results can be further useful to initiate farming of these medicinally and economically important species based on climatically suitable zone and for designing a germplasm conservation strategy.