Study of the trophic web of San Simón Bay (Ría de Vigo) by using stable isotopes

Based on the stable isotope composition in ¹⁵N and ¹³C of different potential sources of organic matter and consumers of an intertidal Zostera marina meadow located in San Simón Bay (Ría de Vigo, NW of Spain), a simplified food web of this community was reconstructed. For this purpose, some alternatives in different steps of the most used methodology of stable isotope dietary analysis were developed that cope with some of the limitations associated to the interpretation of isotopic signals for food web analysis, those of uncertainty on the fractionation value, mathematical model to use for the diet resolution and shortage of the isotope number for discriminating many food sources. The application of this protocol to the studied community reported similar results to those from other studies based on similar trophic webs, emphasizing the importance of local primary producers, especially microphytobenthos, which could be available for several primary consumers through resuspension forced by tidal hydrodynamic. The good agreement with previous results suggests that the proposed protocol is a feasible alternative to elucidate the most plausible trophic relationships in complex trophic webs using stable isotopes analysis.     

Effect of water stress on ecosystem photosynthesis and respiration of a Leymus chinensis steppe in Inner Mongolia

Many studies on global climate have forecast major changes in the amounts and spatial patterns of precipitation that may significantly affect temperate grasslands in arid and semi-arid regions. As a part of ChinaFLUX, eddy covariance flux measurements were made at a semi-arid Leymus chinensis steppe in Inner Mongolia, China during 2003-2004 to quantify the response of carbon exchange to environmental changes. Results showed that gross ecosystem production (FGEP) and ecosystem respiration (Reco) of the steppe were significantly depressed by water stress due to lack of precipitation during the growing season. Temperature was the dominant factor affecting FGEP and Reco in 2003, whereas soil moisture imposed a significant influence on both Reco and FGEP in 2004. Under wet conditions, Reco showed an exponentially increasing trend with temperature (Q10 = 2.0), but an apparent reduction in the value of Reco and its temperature sensitivity were observed during the periods of water stress (Q10=1.6). Both heat and water stress can cause decrease in FGEP. The sea-sonality of ecosystem carbon exchange was strongly correlated with the variation of precipitation. With less precipitation in 2003, the steppe sequestrated carbon in June and July, and went into a senescence in early August due to water stress. As compared to 2003, the severe drought during the spring of 2004 delayed the growth of the steppe until late June, and the steppe became a CO2 sink from early July until mid-September, with ample precipitation in August. The semi-arid steppe released a total of 9.7 g C·m-2 from May 16 to the end of September 2003, whereas the net carbon budget during the same period in 2004 was close to zero. Long-term measurements over various grasslands are needed to quantify carbon balance in temperate grasslands.     

Diagenesis and anthropogenesis of metals in the recent Holocene sedimentary record of the Ría de Vigo (NW Spain)

To contribute to establishing a historical baseline for future evaluations of the environmental quality of the Ría de Vigo (NW Spain), we report metal contents determined in eight gravity cores obtained at representative locations in 1990 - before the installation of any wastewater treatment plants - and in fractions thereof that were obtained by the BCR sequential extraction method. The results suggest that early diagenesis had been influenced by both hydrodynamic conditions and organic matter input (the latter especially in areas devoted to mariculture), and that anthropogenic inputs had also affected the concentrations and between-fraction distribution of Cu, Pb, Zn and other metals in surficial sediments.     

Evaluation of heavy metals and arsenic speciation discharged by the industrial activity on the Tinto-Odiel estuary, SW Spain

This study reports the annual amount of heavy metals discharged by industrial activity into the estuary of the Ría of Huelva (SW Spain). The findings showed that the discharged metals found in highest amounts were Fe (11 t y⁻¹), Zn (3.4 t y⁻¹) and Mo (0.88 t y⁻¹). There were other metals with high pollutant charge, such as Ti (232 kg y⁻¹), As (228 kg y⁻¹), Ni (195 kg y⁻¹), Pb (100 kg y⁻¹), Cr (39 kg y⁻¹) and Cd (33 kg y⁻¹). These results were compared with pollutants transported via the Tinto and Odiel rivers from abandoned mining activities in the Iberian Pyrite Belt (IPB), and it was deduced that the amounts spilled exclusively by industries were less than 1% in relation to the total discharge. Hence, the treatment of residues from the IPB should be the priority goal to improve water quality in the estuary.     

Seasonal distribution of the inorganic carbon system and net ecosystem production in the north eastern shelf of the Gulf of Cádiz (Southwest Iberian Peninsula)

There is scatter information of the inorganic carbon system in the coastal zones and it is important to increment our knowledge and understand the global carbon cycle. We investigated the distribution of inorganic carbon system parameters and its controls in the coastal waters of the north eastern shelf of the Gulf of Cádiz (GoC) during four cruises that took place in June 2006, November 2006, February 2007 and May 2007. The objectives of this study are: (1) to describe the spatio-temporal distribution of inorganic carbon system parameters in waters of the north eastern shelf of the GoC using four cruises, each undertaken in one of the four seasons, (2) to calculate net ecosystem production (NEP) and (3) to examine factors controlling these distributions. The distribution of inorganic carbon system parameters in the north eastern shelf of the Gulf of Cádiz showed temporal and spatial variability. River input, mixing, primary production, respiration, CO₂ air-sea exchange, and remineralization were factors that controlled such distributions. The coastal zone of the GoC is autotrophic on an annual scale at a rate of 1.0 mmol m⁻² d⁻¹. Further measurements are needed it to improve the NEP calculation and to evaluated to intra-annual variability.     

Relative contributions of runoff and sediment from sources within a road prism and implications for total sediment delivery

This study examines runoff and sediment generation rates within the road prism on unsealed road segments in the Cuttagee Creek catchment near Bermagui in New South Wales, Australia. A large (600 m²) rainfall simulator was used to measure runoff and sediment yields from each of the potential sediment and runoff sources and pathways. These included the road surface, table‐drain, upslope contributing area and cutslope face, and the entire road segment as measured at the drain outlet. Experiments were conducted on two major types of road (ridge‐top and cut‐and‐fill) of varying traffic usage and maintenance standard for two 30‐minute simulations of increasing rainfall intensity. From the range of possible sources within the road prism, the road surface produced the dominant source of excess runoff and sediment at each site with limited contributions from the table‐drain, cutslope face or contributing hillslope. Sediment generation varied significantly with road usage and traffic intensity. Road usage was strongly related to the amount of loose available sediment as measured prior to the experiments. Table‐drains acted primarily as sediment traps during the low rainfall event but changes in sediment concentration within the drains were observed as runoff volumes increased during the higher rainfall event of 110 mm h^?1, releasing sediment previously stored in litter and organic dams. The experiments demonstrate the potential roles of various features of the road prism in the generation and movement of sediment and water. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Net rainfall estimation by the inversion of a geomorphology-based transfer function and discharge deconvolution

The assessment of net rainfall, defined as the intermediate hydrological variable linked in between the hillslope and the river network, is a challenge. This paper presents a method for net rainfall estimation, using inverse modelling associated to a geomorphology-based transfer function. The analysis is carried out in semi-arid Tunisia, with a dataset from event discharges in a mesoscale dryland basin. A complete sensitivity analysis is developed, along with a discussion of validity limits for simplifying assumptions and the identification of paths for improvement. This work could be relevant for data-scarce areas, thanks to the use of simple dynamic conceptualization and being based on observable geomorphological features, adjusted to the available data and knowledge.     

Physical conditions driving the spatial and temporal variability in aquatic metabolism of a subtropical coastal lake

We investigated the importance of meteorological and lake physical conditions for temporal, horizontal and vertical differences in the concentration of dissolved oxygen (DO) and water temperature, and the derived daily estimates of gross primary production (GPP), ecosystem respiration (R) and net ecosystem production (NEP). Our study was conducted in a subtropical and polymictic lake in Southern Brazil, during a spring–summer transition. Metabolic rates were determined from two sites using the open water oxygen technique. At the central deep site, oxygen sondes were deployed at three depths to assess patterns in vertical variability. During 10 days, an additional DO and temperature sonde was placed near the shoreline allowing us to compare metabolic differences in the surface layers between the central pelagic and littoral site. While GPP was similar, R was significantly higher at the shallower littoral site, causing NEP to be lower, although NEP was still positive. The littoral site had less diel changes in DO and higher daily variability in all metabolic rates. Variability in GPP and R at the littoral site was related to temperature, wind speed and rainfall suggesting that short-term variability in metabolic rates in shallow areas are sensitive to resuspension of sediments caused by a less stable water column. A clear vertical gradient was furthermore found for the metabolic rates at the central deep part of the lake, related to the light extinction, with highest GPP around 0.3 m and decreasing with depth, while respiration showed the inverse pattern. Below subsurface, respiration prevailed at 5.0 m depth and was uncoupled to primary production. Under conditions with high light and temperature, and low wind speeds, the mixing depth became shallower, in turn increasing the water column stability at the deep pelagic site, which resulted in higher mean light available and higher GPP in the water column. Our results confirm that deployment of sensors in different sites and depths allows for spatially, as well as temporally more representative estimates of lake metabolism.     

Relative role of subinertial and superinertial modes in the coastal long wave response forced by the landfall of a tropical cyclone

A set of numerical experiments has been performed in order to analyze the long-wave response of the coastal ocean to a translating mesoscale atmospheric cyclone approaching the coastline at a normal angle. An idealized two-slope shelf topography is chosen. The model is forced by a radially symmetric atmospheric pressure perturbation with a corresponding gradient wind field. The cyclone's translation speed, radius, and the continental shelf width are considered as parameters whose impact on the long wave period, modal structure, and amplitude is studied. Subinertial continental shelf waves (CSW) dominate the response under typical forcing conditions and on the narrower shelves. They propagate in the downstream (in the sense of Kelvin wave propagation) direction. Superinertial edge wave modes have higher free surface amplitudes and faster phase speeds than the CSW modes. While potentially more dangerous, edge waves are not as common as subinertial shelf waves because their generation requires a wide, gently sloping shelf and a storm system translating at a relatively high (∼10 m s⁻¹ or faster) speed. A relatively smaller size of an atmospheric cyclone also favors edge wave generation. Edge waves with the highest amplitude (up to 60% of the forced storm surge) propagate upstream. They are produced by a storm system with an Eulerian time scale equal to the period of a zero-mode edge wave with the wavelength of the storm spatial scale. Large amplitude edge waves were generated during Hurricane Wilma's landfall (2005) on the West Florida shelf with particularly severe flooding occurring upstream of the landfall site.     

用ASP.NET和C#动态绘制WEB震中分布图的一种方法

简述了NET、ASP．NET的特性及绘制图形的基本原理,介绍在地震目录查询服务中采用ASP．NET与C#,实现通过网页动态绘制地震震中分布图的一种方法。