Belt or network? The spatial structure and shaping mechanism of the Great Wall cultural belt in Beijing

The relationship between cross-regional cultural landscapes does not currently receive enough attention in cultural landscape conservation. Cultural landscapes in China are faced with the crisis of fragmentation and islanding, which makes it necessary to strengthen the idea of integrated conservation. The Great Wall cultural belt in Beijing is a cross-regional linear cultural landscape in the northwest mountainous area of Beijing. With the Great Wall as a link connecting the surrounding natural, social, and cultural resources to form a banded structure, it has the typical and practical significance of integrated conservation. Based on the theory of the cultural landscape security pattern and its ‘node – setting – connection' model, this research studies the spatial structure and shaping mechanism of the Great Wall cultural belt in Beijing from the perspective of tourist flow, using Flickr geo-tagged photos and Wikiloc tracks. The results identify the core nodes and intermediate nodes of the Great Wall cultural belt in Beijing and show that it has a multicore, multi-group hierarchical nesting structure differing from the geographic space, which has groups following the evolution orbit of ‘linear string – circumnuclear star – complete network.' To explain the differences between the cultural association network(CAN) and the geospatial network(GSN), we find that the cultural associations between nodes rely on geophysical channels, including heritage corridors and traffic passages, as physical carriers, but the nodes' attraction and their setting elements, containing natural geography environments, settlements, administrative divisions, etc., change the channel resistance, so CAN and GSN present different characteristics. From the perspective of systematic and spatial network thoughts, this study has made an attempt to adopt new analysis and research methods to achieve the integrated conservation and inheritance of linear cultural landscapes in mountainous areas.     

Evaluation of DNA Damage in the Marine Mussel Crenomytilus grayanus as a Genotoxic Biomarker of Pollution

Marine pollution affects all life processes in aquatic organisms. The genotoxic effect of pollution on the mussel Crenomytilus grayanus was assessed. Bivalves were collected from the ‘clean'(Vostochnaya Cove) and polluted(Nakhodka Bay) areas in the Peter the Great Bay. The degree of DNA damage in C. grayanus was determined by alkaline comet assay as mean percentage of DNA in tail, and the genetic damage index was calculated. Our results indicate that almost one-third of DNA in cells of gills and digestive gland of C. grayanus inhabiting the Nakhodka Bay had destructive changes compared to the individuals of this species from the Vostochnaya Cove. This study has shown that chronic pollution of the aquatic environment causes destructive changes to DNA in gill and digestive gland cells of C. grayanus.     

Progress and prospects in Chinese Antarctic surveying, mapping and remote sensing studies

Antarctic surveying, mapping and remote sensing is one of the important aspects of the Chinese Antarctic geoscience research program that stretch back over 25 years, since the first Chinese National Antarctic Research Expedition （CHINARE） in 1984. During the 1980＇s, the geodetic datum, height system and absolute gravity datum were established at the Great Wall and Zhongshan Stations. Significant contributions have been made by the construction of the Chinese Great Wall, Zhongshan and Kunlun Stations in Antarctica. Geodetic control and gravity networks were established in the King George Islands, Grove Moun- tains and Dome Argus. An area of more than 200 000 km2 has been mapped using satellite image data, aerial photogrammetry and in situ data. Permanent GPS stations and tide gauges have been established at both the Great Wall and Zhongshan Stations. Studies involving plate motion, precise satellite orbit determination, the gravity field, sea level change, and various GPS applications for atmospheric studies have been carried out. Based on remote sensing techniques, studies have been undertaken on ice sheet and glacier movements, the distributions of blue ice and ice crevasses, and ice mass balance. Polar digital and visual mapping tech- niques have been introduced, and a polar survey space database has been built. The Chinese polar scientific expedition manage- ment information system and Chinese PANDA plan display platform were developed, which provides technical support for Chi- nese polar management. Finally, this paper examines prospects for future Chinese Antarctic surveying, mapping and remote sens- ing.     

Development of the geodetic coordinate system in Antarctica

Defining a universal geodetic coordinate system is one of the fundamental challenges of geodesy. We present a review of the basic general coordinate systems -- the space rectangular coordinate system, the geodetic coordinate system, the topocentric coordinate system, and the plane coordinate system. We then look ： t the World Geodetic System WGS72 and WGS84 and the In- ternational Terrestrial Reference Frames ITRF2000 and 1TRF2005, which were introduced when space technology became avail- able. The history of international geodetic coordinate systems in the Antarctic region is briefly reviewed and the development of the geodetic coordinate systems in the Chinese Great Wall Station and Zhongshan Station in Antarctica is outlined. Finally, the issue of coordinate system transformation is discussed.     

Progress in polar upper atmospheric physics research in China

The Chinese Antarctic Great Wall, Zhongshan, Kunlun and Arctic Yellow River stations have unique geographical locations, well suited to carry out polar upper atmospheric observations. This paper reviews the tremendous history of nearly 30 years of Chinese polar expeditions and major progress in polar upper atmospheric physics research. This includes the polar upper atmospheric physics conjugate observation system at Zhongshan Station in the Antarctic and Yellow River Station in the Arctic, and original research achievements in polar ionospheric fields, aurora and particle precipitation, the polar current system, polar plasma convection, geomagnetic pulsations and space plasma waves, inter-hemispheric comparisons of the space environment, space weather in polar regions, power spectrum of the incoherent scatter radar, ionospheric heating experiments and polar meso- spheric summer echoes, polar ionosphere-magnetosphere numerical simulation and others. Finally, prospects for Chinese polar upper atmospheric physics research are outlined.     

Ecological differences of south polar skua populations from Fildes Peninsula of King George Island and eastern Larsemann Hills, Antarctica

A study has been done on the comparison of nesting and feeding behavior, population variances as well as breeding success between two populations of south polar skua (Catharacta maccormicki) from near Great Wall station on Fildes Peninsula and near Zhongshan station in Eastern Larsemann Hills, Antarctica. There are evident differences in their population ecology. The foraging habit is much related to regional ecosystem and food resources near their territorial area. Dependence on human food waste influences skua‘s diet,which considerably affects their behavior even population variation in both areas. The skuas in Zhongshan Station,could shorten and/or regulate the timing for their egg laying and hatching, and take precedence of one chick brooding, for keeping their breeding success, and subsequent species continuation.     

THE ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY OF THE SEWAGEDISCHARGE AREA OF QINGDAO COVE--ACLADISTIC ANALYSIS

This study on the environmental quality of the Qingdao Cove intertidal zone sewage discharge area is based on data obtained from the December of 1989 and 1990 macrobenthos investigations there, and uses pollution indicator species and computer aided cladistic analysis to divide the area into a polluted area and a semi-polluted area. The study showed the environmental quality in 1990 improved over that in 1989.     

Changes of serum thyroid hormone and plasma catecholamine of 16 th and 17 th Chinese Expeditioners in Antarctic environment

The serum thyroid hormone and plasma catecholamine were examined in 18 male and 2 female members of the Chinese Antarctic Expedition (who spent the 2000 or 2001 austral winter at the Great Wall Station) . The changes of serum thyroid hormone i. e. total thyroxine (TT4) and free T4 (FT4) , total triodothyronine (TT3) and freeT3 ( FT3 ) , thyroid stimulating hormone ( TSH ) and plasma catecholamine, including norepinephrine (NE) , epinephrine ( E) and dopamine ( DA ) , were investigated by Chemoluminescence Immunoassay (CLIA) and High Performance Liquid Chromatography with electrochemical detection (HPLC-ECD) . Samples were taken at different time; (1)1 day before departure to Antarctica (16th expedition 1999/12/ 09; 17th expedition 2000/12/06). (2) 1 day after returned to China after living 54 weeks in Antarctica ( 16th expedition 2000/12/25 ; 17th expedition 2001/12/25 ). Comparing the data of before departure and returned, results showed that there was a significant decrease in the contents of TT4 (P <     

Features of visibility variation at Great Wall Station, Antarctica

The variation of visibility at Great Wall Station （GWS） was analyzed using manual observational data for the period of 1986 to 2012. Results show that the frequencies of occurrence of high （≥ 10 km） and low visibility （0-1 km） are 61.0% and 8.0%, respectively. Visibility at GWS shows an evident seasonal variation： The highest visibility between November and March, and the lowest visibility from June to October. Sea fog and precipitation are the main factors for low visibility during summer, whereas frequent adverse weather, such as falling snow, blowing snow, or blizzards, are responsible for low visibility in winter. The frequency of occurrence of low visibility has decreased significantly from 1986 to 2012. Conversely, the frequency of occurrence of high visibility has shown a significant increasing trend, especially during winter. The decreasing tendencies of fog, blowing snow, and snowfall have contributed to the increasing trend of high visibility during winter. Visibility at GWS exhibits significant synoptic-scale （2.1 to 8.3 d）, annual, and inter-annual periods （2 a, 4.1 a, and 6.9 a to 8.2 a）, among which the most significant period is 4.1 a. The visibility observed during 2012 indicates that instrumental observation can be applied in the continuous monitoring of visibility at GWS.     

Cover Story

正The cover photo shows a big granite boulder named "Anvil Stone", which is about 10 m high and is perching on another boulder. As its name suggests, the "Anvil Stone" looks like an anvil due to its inward concave sidewalls. The "Anvil Stone" is located on a mountainous ridge of the Little Sangpu Mountain of eastern Guangdong, China at approximately 93 m above sea level. The mountain opposite the "Anvil Stone" in the photo is the Great Sangpu Mountain. The plain between the Great and Little mountains represent a faulty depression formed by Dongshanhu fault. The rock that makes     

Crustal deformation revealed by GPS in Kumaun Himalaya,India

The foremost Global Positioning System(GPS) derived measurements in the Kumaun Himalaya indicate that most of the crustal motion of the Indian plate is accommodating towards the base as well as on the hanging wall of Main Central Thrust(MCT).Deformation pattern within the Kumaun Himalaya varies from south to north and indicates maximum deformation rate near MCT.Our study,based on the campaign mode GPS survey during 2003- 2006,reveals that the area between north of North Almora Thrust(NAT) and at the base of Great Himalaya registers maximum strain rate,which is lowered towards the Trans Himadri Fault(THF).The GAMIT-GLOBK processed campaign data of the area show that currently,the Himalayan Frontal Fault(HFF) and Main Boundary Thrust(MBT) are locked with the Indian plate,and a 6.7 ± 2.5 mm/yr of horizontal shortening is taking place between the Lesser Himalaya and Peninsular India.     

Review on observational studies of western tropical Pacific Ocean circulation and climate

The Western Tropical Pacific(WTP) Ocean holds the largest area of warm water(28℃) in the world ocean referred to as the Western Pacific Warm Pool(WPWP),which modulates the regional and global climate through strong atmospheric convection and its variability.The WTP is unique in terms of its complex 3-D ocean circulation system and intensive multiscale variability,making it crucial in the water and energy cycle of the global ocean.Great advances have been made in understanding the complexity of the WTP ocean circulation and associated climate impact by the international scientific community since the 1960 s through field experiments.In this study,we review the evolving insight to the 3-D structure and multi-scale variability of the ocean circulation in the WTP and their climatic impacts based on in-situ ocean observations in the past decades,with emphasis on the achievements since 2000.The challenges and open que stions remaining are reviewed as well as future plan for international study of the WTP ocean circulation and climate.     

CHANGE OF REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT POLICY IN CHINA

After 40 years of painstaking work, much improvement has been made in regional difference. The road of that development, however, is by no means a smooth one, full of setbacks and failure. The past forty years may be roughly divided into four stages: 1.a stage of rehabilitation and large scale transition towards the interior( 1949-1959), 2. the dispersion stage with an emphasis on the construction of the interior (1960-1977), 3. a stage of moving back to the coastland and relative concentration of constructions of large scale industries (1978-1980), and 4. a stage of taking the coastland as the focal point for regional development (since 1981). Since the late 1970s, China began to carry out what is known as the Open-door policy. Great changes have taken place in regional development policy.     

Defence force activities in marine protected areas:environmental management of Shoalwater Bay Training Area,Queensland,Australia

Environmental management of military activities is of growing global concern by defence forces. As one of the largest landholders in Australia, the Australian Defence Force (ADF) is increasingly concerned with sustainable environmental management. This paper focuses on how the ADF is maintaining effective environmental management, especially in environmentally sensitive marine protected areas. It uses Shoalwater Bay Training Area (SWBTA) as a research example to examine environmental management strategies conducted by the ADF. SWBTA is one of the most significant Defence training areas in Australia, with a large number of single, joint and combined military exercises conducted in the area. With its maritime component contained in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park (GBRMP), the Great Barrier Reef World Heritage Area (GBRWHA), and abutting Queensland’s State Marine Parks, it has high protection values. It is therefore vital for the ADF to adopt environmentally responsible management while they are conducting military activities. As to various tools employed to manage environmental performance, the ISO 14001 Environmental Management System (EMS) is widely used by the ADF. This paper examines military activities and marine environmental management within SWBTA, using the Talisman Saber (TS) exercise series as an example. These are extensive joint exercises conducted by the ADF and the United States defence forces. The paper outlines relevant legislative framework and environmental policies, analyses how the EMS operates in environmental management of military activities, and how military activities comply with these regulations. It discusses the implementation of the ADF EMS, including risk reduction measures, environmental awareness training, consultation and communication with stakeholders. A number of environmental management actions used in the TS exercises are presented to demonstrate the EMS application. Our investigations to this point indicate that the ADF is complying with all relevant legislation and policies. Further research is required to confirm compliance and conclude that military activities have good accord with environmental management objectives.     

Six new chrysophycean stomatocysts ornamented with reticulum from the Great Xing’an Mountains, China

Six new chrysophycean stomatocysts ornamented with reticulum were illustrated based on SEM observation. They were described following the guidelines of the International Statospore Working Group (ISWG). All samples were collected from the Great Xing’an Mountains, China. Their taxonomic characteristics and habitats were described to provide new information on the biodiversity of chrysophycean stomatocysts. As is common with many morphotypes, their biological affinities remain unknown.     

Research on the Interannual Variability of the Great Whirl and the Related Mechanisms

Based on AVISO(archiving, validation and interpretation of satellite data in oceanography) data from 1993 to 2010, Quik SCAT(Quick Scatterometer) data from 2000 to 2008, and Argo data from 2003 to 2008, the interannual variability of the Great Whirl(GW) and related mechanisms are studied. It shows that the origin and termination times of the GW, as well as its location and intensity, have significant interannual variability. The GW appeared earliest(latest) in 2004(2008) and vanished earliest(latest) in 2006(2001), with the shortest(longest) duration in 2008(2001). Its center was most southward(northward) in 2007(1995), while the minimum(maximum) amplitude and area occurred in 2003 and 2002(1997 and 2007), respectively. The GW was weaker and disappeared earlier with its location tending to be in the southwest in 2003, while in 2005 it was stronger, vanished later and tended to be in northeast. The abnormal years were often not the same among different characters of the GW, and were not all coincident with ENSO(El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation) or IOD(Indian Ocean Dipole) events, indicating the very complex nature of GW variations. Mechanism investigations shows that the interannual variability of intraseasonal wind stress curl in GW region results in that of the GW. The generation of the GW is coincident with the arrival of Rossby waves at the Somali coast in spring; the intensity of the GW is also influenced by Rossby waves. The termination of the GW corresponds well to the second one of the top two peaks in the baroclinic energy conversion rate in GW region, and the intensity and the position of the GW are also closely related to the top two baroclinic energy conversion rates.     

Species Composition and Diversity of Macrobenthos in the Intertidal Zone of Xiangshan Bay,China

Xiangshan bay is a narrow semi-closed bay and situated on the northwestern coast of the East China Sea. Over past decades, it has become to a major bay with intensive human activities, dense urbanized area, and poor water quality. The aim of this paper was to reveal the ecological status through the elucidation of the species composition, abundance, biomass and diversity of macrobenthos in this bay. Six intertidal sections were surveyed from January 2007 to November 2008 quarterly. Sections TG, HD and XH are located in the three inner bays, sections QJ and WS are located near the thermal power plants, and section XX is located at the outer part of Xiangshan Bay. Great variations in macrobenthos community were indentified, and the species composition of the community in the present study showed the dominance in the order of molluscs(bivalves and gastropods), crustaceans and others, and only few Polychaeta were recorded. Only three dominant species, Littorina brevicula, Ilyplax tansuiensis, and Cerithidea cingulata were collected in all the sections, and a total of 19 dominant species were recorded only in one section. Two-way ANOVA analyses of abundance indicated that there were significant differences among sections or seasons. Shannon-Wiener diversity index(H’) had its maximum(2.45) in section QJ, and minimum(1.76) in section TG. Multiple irregular k-dominance plots clearly showed that the study area was polluted and the macrobenthos community was under stress. We conclude that the macrobenthos of Xiangshan Bay have been disturbed by human activities, especially at the interior bay.     

Spatial distribution and dynamics of carbon storage in natural Larix gmelinii forest in Daxing'anling mountains of Inner Mongolia,northeastern China

In order to clarify the geographic distribution and change of natural Larix gmelinii forest in carbon storage in Daxing'anling mountains(Great Khingan Range) in North China's Inner Mongolia, an area-irrelevant conversion equation of biomass from timber volume in the form of B = 0.6966 V was developed by using survey data. Based on the equation, the carbon storage was estimated at 190.172 Tg, and the average carbon density was 41.659 Mg/hm~2(area 4.565 × 10~6 hm~2). Carbon stored in standing trees was predominantly distributed in mid-age and mature forests and mainly stocked in the northern part of the study area. Assuming the carbon density of intact area as the maximum value, the potential carbon storage in the entire study area would be 263.674 Tg, approximately 1.4 times of the actual level. Over the period of 1995 to 2010, the carbon storage and carbon densityincreased by 3.260 Tg and 0.224 Mg/hm~2, respectively, indicating a weak carbon sink. Comparing with China's national average level, the carbon density in this area is not as high as expected. Forest quality in terms of carbon capacity is expected to be enhanced by appropriate management schemes under the in-implementation program of forest protection.     

Resources of coal methane and problems in their development

The coal deposits methane is one of the type ecological mineral-raw materials resources.The methane reasonable extract from coal-methane deposits at the same time with mining of coal.This is the most economical way of the coal methane mining.The Russian coal basins are a large domestic raw materials base for energy,metallurgical and coke industry.There are the 77% of all mines have volume of gas in Kuzbass,Vorkuta and other mining industrial regions of Russia.Russian coal deposits is disposed the most largest in the world coal deposits and are most methane-bearing capacity coal seams:8.1 kg/t methane of coal,to compare with 7.4 kg/t in Great Britain,6.7 kg/t in China,5.0 kg/t in USA and 3.6 kg/t in Germany.     

Mercury distribution and accumulation in typical wetland ecosystems of Sanjiang Plain, Northeast China

Total mercury in soil,water,plant,insects,fishes and bird feathers were determined to study mercury distribution and accumulation in typical wetland ecosystems in the Sanjiang Plain,Northeast China.Results show that total mercury concentrations in soils of Deyeuxia angustifolia wetland and Carex lascarpa wetland are 0.046 mg/kg and 0.063 mg/kg,respectively.Total mercury concentration in water bodies is 0.053 μg/L on average.Of four plants studied,total mercury in moss is the highest with the mean of 0.132 mg/kg.Of 10 terrestrial insect species studied,total mercury in centipede(Scolopendra spp.) is the highest with the mean of 0.515 mg/kg while total mercury in grasshopper(Oxya spp.) bodies is the lowest.Total mercury concentrations in the herbivorous,omnivorous and predatory insects are 10.18 ng/g,16.47 ng/g and 213.35 ng/g on average,respectively.Total mercury concentrations of the adult feather(549.88 ± 63.04 ng/g),nestling feather(55.15 ± 23.53 ng/g),and eggshell(22.05 ± 5.96 ng/g) of the Grey heron(Ardea cinerea) are higher than those of the Great egret(Egretta alba)(adult feather:446.57 ± 90.89 ng/g;nestling feather:32.99 ± 17.15 ng/g;eggshell:21.02 ± 3.17 ng/g) in the wetlands of the Sanjiang Plain.The bioconcentration factors decrease in the order of piscivorous fish muscle > omnivorous fish muscle > herbivorous fish > insect.