Variation in δ15N of a lacustrine sedimentary sequence in the Nanling Mountains and its potential implication for climatic conditions over the past ∼16 000 years

Although extensive studies have been performed on nitrogen isotopes in lake sediments,understanding the complexity of the δ~15N variation related to past environmental and climatic conditions still remains unclear.Supported by multi-proxy records including litho-units,organic carbon isotopes,ration of total organic carbon and total nitrogen,organic matter content,bulk dry density,the accumulation rate of organic matter,median grain size,magnetic susceptibility,and Rb/Sr and Ca/Mg ratios obtained from a sedimentary sequence in a small lake(i.e.,Dahu Swamp) in the eastern Nanling Mountains in South China,we deduce that variation in the δ15N values results primarily from the sources of organic matter,which are significantly influenced by climatic conditions over the past ~16 000 years.A low(or high) lake level resulting from dry(or wet) conditions would lead to more(or fewer) vascular plant remains in the sediments and stronger(or weaker) denitrification associated with hypolimnetic anoxia,resulting in lower(or higher) δ15N values.In addition,dry(or wet) conditions would favor weakened(or strengthened) biogeochemical activity in the catchment,which could result in less(or more) external input of15N-enriched OM,thus leading to decreased(or increased) δ15N values.Our results indicate that the lake sediment δ15N record in the Nanling Mountains has the potential to provide valuable insight into past East Asian monsoon climatedriven environmental changes.     

Mapping of freshwater lake wetlands using object-relations and rule-based inference

Inland freshwater lake wetlands play an important role in regional ecological balance.Hongze Lake is the fourth biggest freshwater lake in China.In the past three decades,there has been significant loss of freshwater wetlands within the lake and at the mouths of neighboring rivers,due to disturbance,primarily from human activities.The main purpose of this paper was to explore a practical technology for differentiating wetlands effectively from upland types in close proximity to them.In the paper,an integrated method,which combined per-pixel and per-field classification,was used for mapping wetlands of Hongze Lake and their neighboring upland types.Firstly,Landsat ETM+ imagery was segmented and classified by using spectral and textural features.Secondly,ETM+ spectral bands,textural features derived from ETM+ Pan imagery,relative relations between neighboring classes,shape features,and elevation were used in a decision tree classification.Thirdly,per-pixel classification results from the decision tree classifier were improved by using classification results from object-oriented classification as a context.The results show that the technology has not only overcome the salt-and-pepper effect commonly observed in the past studies,but also has improved the accuracy of identification by nearly 5%.     

RELATIVE BRIGHTNESS INDEX AND IT‘S CLIMATIC SIGNIFICANCE FROM LACUSTRINE SEDIMENT OF NAPAHAI LAKE，NORTHWESTERN YUNNAN PLATEAU，CHINA

Information on the palaeoenvironment from Late Pleistocene to Holocene in northwestern Yannan Plateau has been deduced from a study of a 28.81m-long core taken from Napahai Lake.The results from Relative Brightness In-dex(RBI) as well as those from the lithological analyses of bulk sediments,total organic carbon and granulometric analy-ses have been used to reconstruct the environmental and climatic evolution of the area.The ages were provided by three ^14C datings.The record suggested a climate fluctuation between warm-dry and cool-wet from ca.57 to 32ka B.P.which led a shallowing and swamping of the lake.The water level again increased quickly at ca.32ka B.P.,reached itˊs peak during LGM(Last Glacial Maximum,ca.18-20kaB.P.)and remained relative high until ca.15kaB.P.The high wa-ter level at LGM is attributed to cold-wet conditions.The area experienced an abrupt and unstable climatic changes dur-ing the transition period form 15 to 10ka B.P.with a dominated littoral environment.Awarm-dry climate led to the contrac-tion of the lake during the Holocene and reed-swamps became dominant..After a minor wet-cool pulse during the Late Holocene,the modern climate became to be established.     

Analysis of petroleum hydrocarbons in mangrove sediments of Red Sea of Yemen

A field work has been carried out to identify the occurrence of oil and oil products pollution in mangrove sediment from Red Sea of Yemen. The concentration of total petroleum hydrocarbons is from 700ng/g at Kamaran Island station to 400 ng/g at Al-Hodiedah station, and the total organic carbon （TOC） in samples ranges from 0. 07% at Dhubab station to 0. 03% at Kamaran Island station. This pollution is as a result of localized oil pollution and/or heavy ship traffic in the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden.     

Outburst risk of barrier lakes in Sichuan,China

34 barrier lakes induced by earthquake have been formed by wedged debris on the river channels after a massive earthquake happening on May 12 in Sichuan, China. Among them, the Tangjiashan Barrier Lake is the largest one. It faces very urgent risk of dam breaking when water level reaches the top and begins overflow in case of storm rainfalls and continually aftershocks, threatening already devastated cities and villages with about 1.5 million people downstream. The outburst of a similar barrier lake occurred in the Minjiang River in 1933, causing a catastrophic flood. Risk analysis indicates that not all barrier lakes are highly dangerous. Only those lakes with very high dams and water to be filled up in short period need to be dealt with immediately.     

Fast adsorption of microcystin-LR by Fe(Ⅲ)-modified powdered activated carbon

Microcystins(MCs) are cyclic hepatotoxic peptides produced by the bloom-forming cyanobacterium Microcystis and present a public health hazard to humans and livestock. The removal of MCs from contaminated water with powdered activated carbon(PAC) has been employed as a simple and economic treatment strategy. In this study, PAC-Fe(Ⅲ) was prepared and utilized for the fast and efficient removal of MCs from water. PAC-Fe(Ⅲ) exhibited superior microcystin-LR(MC-LR) removal capacity and efficiency compared to the unmodified PAC. The MC-LR removal efficiency of PAC-Fe(Ⅲ) increased with decreasing p H within the pH range of 4.3 to 9.6. PAC-Fe(Ⅲ) could be reused for 3 times by methanol elution while the MC-LR removal efficiency was still over 70 percent. The removal efficiency was positively correlated to the ionic strength of water and negatively correlated to alkalinity. Natural organic matter(NOM) such as humic acid(HA) and salicylic acid(SA) generated low interference with MC-LR adsorption by PAC-Fe(Ⅲ). The complexation reaction between Fe~(3+) in PAC-Fe(Ⅲ) and the functional groups of MCLR was suggested as the key mechanism of MC-LR removal by PAC-Fe(Ⅲ). The results suggest that Femodified PAC is a promising material for the treatment of MC-contaminated waters.     

KINETICS OF LEAD ADSORPTION BY XIAMEN BAY SEDIMENTS

The kinetics of Pb adsorption in seawater by surface sediments from Xiamen Bay was simulated and the effects of seawater conditions were studied . When water temperature changed from 20 to 30℃, pH from 5 to 8 and salinity from 30 to 4 . the adsorption rate increased by about 50% , one order of magnitude and 5 times, respectively . A negative exponential relation between the adsorption rate and salinity has been found . The adsorption processes can be simulated by the exchange- equilibrium kinetic model . Adsorption rate constant, apparent activation energy and equilibrium adsorptive capacity have been quantitatively determined . The adsorption of Pb by sediments is essentially a chemical action .     

A catastrophic natural disaster chain of typhoon–rainstorm–landslide–barrier lake–flooding in Zhejiang Province,China

On August 10, 2019, due to the effect of a rainstorm caused by Super Typhoon Lekima, a landslide occurred in Shanzao Village, China. It blocked the Shanzao stream, forming a barrier lake, and then the barrier lake burst. This is a rare natural disaster chain of typhoon–rainstorm–landslide–barrier lake–flooding. This study was built on field surveys, satellite image interpretation, the digital elevation model(DEM), engineering geological analysis and empirical regression. The purpose was to reveal the characteristics and causes of the landslide, the features and formation process of the barrier lake and the dam break flooding discharge. The results show that the volume of the landslide deposit is approximately 2.4 × 105 m3. The burst mode of the landslide dam is overtopping, which took only 22 minutes from the formation of the landslide dam to its overtopping. The dam-break peak flow was 1353 m3/s, and the average velocity was 2.8-3.0 m/s. This study shows that the strongly weathered rock and soil slope has low strength and high permeability under the condition of heavy rainfall, which reminds us the high risk of landslides and the importance of accurate early warning of landslides under heavy rainfalls in densely populated areas of Southeast China, as well as the severity of the disaster chain of typhoon–rainstorm–landslide–barrier lake–flooding.     

Molecular characterization of cyanobacterial diversity in Lake Gregory, Sri Lanka

Eutrophication or the process of nutrient enrichment of stagnant waters due to excessive use of fertilizer is becoming a critical issue worldwide. Lake Gregory, an artificial lake situated in Nuwara Eliya, Sri Lanka was once a very attractive landscape feature and recreational area attracting a large number of visitors. Rapid urbanization in surrounding areas and the consequent intensification of agricultural and industrial activities led to eutrophication and siltation in the lake. Present study was conducted to detect cyanobacterial diversity and their ability to produce hepatotoxic microcystins using polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based techniques. Twenty five water samples (surface and bottom) were collected from the lake and total nitrogen and total carbon were estimated. Cyanobacterial cultures were grown in appropriate media and microscopic observations were used to determine the morphological diversity of cyanobacteria isolated from different sites. Genomic DNA was isolated and purified from cyanobacteria using Boom’s method. DNA samples were analyzed by PCR with oligonucleotide primers for 16S rRNA gene and mcyA gene of the operon that encodes a microcystin synthetase. The 16S rRNA gene sequences revealed the presences of cyanobacteria belong to Synechococcus sp., Microcystis aeruginosa, Calothrix sp., Leptolyngbya sp., Limnothrix sp., order Oscillatoriales and order Chroococcales. The sequences obtained from this study were deposited in the database under the accession numbers (GenBank: GU368104-GU368116). PCR amplification of mcyA primers indicated the potential for toxin formation of isolated M. aeruginosa from Lake Gregory. This preliminary study shows that the Lake Gregory is under the potential risk of cyanobacterial toxicity. Clearly more work is needed to extend this finding and clarify if other cyanobacterial isolates have genetic potential to produce microcystin since this lake is utilized for recreational activities.     

On the unusual holocene carbonate sediment in lake Nam Co, central Tibet

In lacustrine sediments, aragonite is a widespread mineral, whereas monohydrocalcite is a rare carbonate mineral. In the cold and high-attitude Xizang （Tibetan） Plateau, where aragonite has been commonly found in lacustrine sediments, there is no aragonite, but low-Mg calcite, monohydrocalcite and trace dolomite. The lake receives solutes primarily from surface runoffs and remains fairly constant water chemistry for a long time. The total CaCO3 percentage in sediments could be controlled by evaporation and inflow of detrital materials. The absence of aragonite is unusual when compared to other lacustrine sediments from the Tibetan Plateau. This could be due to low Ca/Mg ratio, low salinity, low Mg and Ca concentration. Monohydrocalcite might precipitate from the lake water mediated by biological activities. Low-Mg calcite originated from minor ostracoda shell and the precipitation of lake water with biological activities.     

Research and development on foam breaking and recycling technology in air-foam drilling

In recent years, air-foam combining the advantages of both liquid and air drilling has been utilized as a drilling medium. Air-foam drilling has proved its efficiency in numerous situations where serious problems were encountered, such as in fractured formations and depleted or high permeable zones. However, the major disadvantage of air-foam drilling system is that the foam can only be used once, so that an extremely large pit is required to contain the foam to allow sufficient room for cuttings and for the foam to dissipate. Moreover, it needs enormous volume prepared, consuming abundance of water and ingredient additives, which results in the high cost of foam drilling. The recycling foam fluid by using foam breaking technology is the only effective method to solve these problems associated with the known foam drilling. Various types of equipment and technique have been employed to suppress foam formation in biological and process equipment in foam drilling. The study described various methods of foam breaking technology, and the trend of the foam breaking technology for foam drilling is discussed.     

Water resource management in the intermountain Izeh Plain, Southwest of Iran

Ever growing demand for water for agricultural activities in the Izeh Plain has enhanced the use of groundwater. Due to enormous groundwater abstraction since 1985, the overall static water level has receded by more than 5 meters reflecting that the aquifer is under stress condition. As a result, interest is focused on application of artificial recharge as an option for groundwater management to augment water supply in this area. Therefore, in the present investigations, suitable sites for artificial recharge were selected by an integrated surface and sub-surface assessment of the area. On the basis of the data collected from four target points, it was realized that the selected sites for artificial recharge could not meet water demand of the area. In this study attention was also paid to utilization of the existing Miangran Lake water as an alternative to combat water shortage for irrigation. The study further indicated that the available Miangran Lake water could be used for irrigation of the reclaimed agricultural land and enabling to convert 20o0 hectares of rain-fed land into irrigation. The total cost to utilize lake water is US$ 2,756,729 and it was estimated that the project could recoup the investment within 5 years which is quite reasonable in this water scarcity prone area.     

Spatial-temporal characteristics of land subsidence corresponding to dynamic groundwater funnel in Beijing Municipality,China

Due to long-term over-exploitation of groundwater in Beijing Municipality,regional groundwater funnels have formed and land subsidence has been induced.By combining a groundwater monitoring network,GPS monitor-ing network data,radar satellite SAR data,GIS and other new technologies,a coupled process model based on the dy-namic variation of groundwater and the deformation response of land subsidence has been established.The dynamic variation of groundwater funnels and the land subsidence response process were analyzed systematically in Beijing.Study results indicate that current groundwater funnel areas are distributed mainly in the southwest of Shunyi District,the northeast of Chaoyang District and the northwest of Tongzhou District,with an average decline rate of groundwa-ter level of 2.66 m/yr and a maximum of 3.82 m/yr in the center of the funnels.Seasonal and interannual differences exist in the response model of land subsidence to groundwater funnels with uneven spatial and temporal distribution,where the maximum land subsidence rate was about-41.08 mm/yr and the area with a subsidence rate greater than 30 mm/yr was about 1637.29 km2.Although a consistency was revealed to exist between a groundwater funnel and the spatial distribution characteristics of the corresponding land subsidence funnel,this consistency was not perfect.The results showed that the response model of land subsidence to the dynamic variation of groundwater was more revealing when combining conventional technologies with InSAR,GIS,GPS,providing a new strategy for environmental and hydrogeological research and a scientific basis for regional land subsidence control.     

LAND RESTORATION IN CHINA

China has a land area of 9.6 million km2, 65% of the total land area of the world. Only 14.2% is cultivated at present, 0.5% is under fruit trees, 34.8% is in grazing. 17.2% is under forests, 2.6% is used for industry, communication and urban purposes, and 3.5% is covered by water. Of the remaining 27.2%, much is high and barren desert, or under permanent snowfields, or not yet used, or unable to be used with available technologies. Land resources have not been properly developed in some parts of China, owing to the pressure from population growth and other socioeconomic problems. For China as a whole, land restoration has made great progress. One solution is to increase the crop land area through reclamation.     

DRASTIC-based vulnerability evaluation for groundwater environment in Kunming City

Groundwater pollution has serious influences on programming and development for a city.So it has a special importance to assess reasonably the vulnerability to pollution for urban groundwater.DRASTIC is an effective method for groundwater vulnerability assessment,which has been adapted in USA and Europe countries.In this paper,DRASTIC method is applied in vulnerability assessment of shallow groundwater environment in Kunming.A total of 1 339 units are divided in this area and the grade of each unit for seven indexes is determined.Then vulnerability zones are divided in the area by DRASTIC value,which has an important meaning to city programming.     

Influence of Seawater Temperature on Phytoplankton Growth in Jiaozhou Bay, China

The phytoplankton reproduction capacity (PRC), as a new concept regarding chlorophyll-a and primary production (PP) is described. PRC is different from PP, carbon assimilation number (CAN) or photosynthetic rate ( P^B ) . PRC quantifies phytoplankton growth with a special consideration of the effect of seawater temperature. Observation data in Jiaozhou Bay, Qingdao, China, collected from May 1991 to February 1994 were used to analyze the horizontal distribution and seasonal variation of the PRC in Jiaozhou Bay in order to determine the characteristics, dynamic cycles and trends of phytoplankton growth in Jiaozhou Bay; and to develop a corresponding dynamic model of seawater temperature vs. PRC. Simulation curves showed that seawater temperature has a dual function of limiting and enhancing PRC. PRC‘s periodicity and fluctuation are similar to those of the seawater temperature. Nutrient silicon in Jiaozhou Bay satisfies phytoplankton growth from June 7 to November 3. When nutrients N, P and Si satisfy the phytoplankton growth and solar irradiation is sufficient, the PRC would reflect the influence of seawater temperature on phytoplankton growth. Moreover, the result quantitatively explains the scenario of one-peak or two-peak phytoplankton reproduction in Jiaozhou Bay, and also quantitatively elucidates the internal mechanism of the one- or two-peak phytoplankton reproduction in the global marine areas.     

Application of sediment traps in global change research in mountain lakes

Representativity of biota in the biosphere also have similar significance in the lithosphere after their death. Recently, taphonomic representation of biota in the lithosphere has been widely used for minimizing the biases in palaeo-environmental reconstructions including global climate change. In September 2001, a sediment trap was installed at the central area of the Loch Coire Fionnaraich （LCFR）, a small, oligotrophic mountain loch in northwest Scotland for a taphonomic study of cladoceran zooplankton. The trap was emptied on a seasonal basis, where an average 0.14 g dry material was recovered in each season, January, May and August 2002 respectively. A sediment core was also taken from near the sediment trap location. The top 0.5 cm section, the ＇core＇ was used for a comparative study with the trap sediment samples. The planktonic Cladocera consisted of Bosmina coregoni and appeared to have excellent preservation in the trap assemblages. Moreover, some common littoral Cladocera such as Alonella excisa and Aloha guttata appear to be less well preserved in the fossil assemblages. Large littoral taxa such as Eurycercus lamellatus and Aloha quadrangularis were rare in the trap but relatively common and well preserved in the sediment-water interface. It is suggested that taphonomic processes play a dominant role on deposition of fossil remains of Cladocera and caution should be taken while inferring the past environmental changes whilst using fossil assemblages recovered from the lake centre as a representation of the entire cladoceran community in the lake.     

Temporal variability of temperature-nitrate relationship in a coastal region

The inverse relationship between nitrate and temperature （N-T relationship） has been used to estimate new production from remotely sensed sea surface temperature at the regional or global scale of oceans. This study aimed to develop a time-series model of the N-T relationship from automated, continuous hourly observations over two years on the coast of Halifax, Canada. The model demonstrated time-series variability of the N-T relationship at a coastal station on the Nova Scotia Shelf, with adjusted R2=0.999 4 and RMSE=0.025 7. The maximum residual value was 0.077. The annual temperature variations described a sine curve, and daily, weekly, and monthly variations fluctuated within the normal ranges, controlled by the local climate. The annual variation of nitrate concentration formed nearly a sine curve. Heavy or long- lasting rainfall increased nitrate concentration by 4 to 30-fold in 24 h, and then the increased nitrogen was quickly depleted by phytoplankton growth in 10 to 48 h. In general, biological activity was a key factor in causing nitrate concentration change, dependent mainly on seawater temperature. The power function of the N-T relationship observed in our study area could be used to quickly estimate sea surface nitrate concentration, in combination with temperature data obtained by remote sensing.     

A singular spectrum analysis on Holocene climatic oscillation from lake sedimentary record in Minqin Basin, China

The total organic carbon (TOC) content series from the lake sediment of Minqin Basin (100°57′–104°57′E, 37°48′–39°17′N) in northwestern China, which has a 10 000-year-long paleo-climatic proxy record, was used to analyze the Holocene climate changes in the local region. The proxy record was established in the Sanjiaocheng (SJC), Triangle Town in Chinese, Section (103°20′25″E, 39°00′38″N), which is located at the northwestern boundary of the present Asian summer monsoon in China, and is sensitive to global environmental and climate changes. Applying singular spectrum analysis (SSA) to the TOC series, principal climatic oscillations and periodical changes were studied. The results reveal 3 major patterns of climate change regulated by reconstructed components (RCs). The first pattern is natural long-term trend of climatic change in the local area (Minqin Basin), indicating a relatively wetter stage in early Holocene (starting at 9.5 kaBP), and a relatively dryer stage with a strong lake desiccation and a declined vegetation cover in mid-Holocene (during 7–6 kaBP). From 4.0 kaBP to the present, there has been a gradually decreasing trend in the third reconstructed component (RC3) showing that the local climate changed again into a dryer stage. The second pattern shows millennial-centennial scale oscillations containing cycles of 1 600 and 800 years that have been present throughout almost the entire Holocene period of the last 10 000 years. The third pattern is a millennial-centennial scale variation with a relatively smaller amplitude and unclear cycles showing a nonlinear interaction within the earth’s climate systems.     

Importance of kelp-derived organic carbon to the scallop Chlamys farreri in an integrated multi-trophic aquaculture system

Bivalves and seaweeds are important cleaners that are widely used in integrated multi-trophic aquaculture(IMTA) systems. A beneficial relationship between seaweed and bivalve in the seaweedbased IMTA system has been confirmed, but the trophic importance of seaweed-derived particulate organic materials to the co-cultured bivalve is still unclear. We evaluated the trophic importance of the kelp Saccharina japonica to the co-cultured scallop Chlamys farreri in a typical IMTA farm in Sungo Bay(Weihai, North China). The dynamics of detritus carbon in the water were monitored during the culturing period. The proportion of kelp-derived organic matter in the diet of the co-cultured scallop was assessed via the stable carbon isotope method. Results showed that the detritus carbon in the water ranged from 75.52 to 265.19 μg/L, which was 25.6% to 73.8% of total particulate organic carbon(TPOC) during the study period. The amount of detritus carbon and its proportion in the TPOC changed throughout the culture cycle of the kelp. Stable carbon isotope analysis showed that the cultured scallop obtained 14.1% to 42.8% of its tissue carbon from the kelp, and that the percentages were closely correlated with the proportion of detritus carbon in the water( F =0.993, P= 0.003). Evaluation showed that for 17 000 tons(wet weight) of annual scallop production, the kelp contributed about 139.3 tons of carbon(535.8 tons of dry mass). This confirms that cultured kelp plays a similar trophic role in IMTA systems as it does in a natural kelp bed. It is a major contributor to the detritus pool and supplies a vital food source to filter-feeding scallops in the IMTA system, especially during winter and early spring when phytoplankton are scarce.