南极南设得兰群岛附近海域表层沉积物中有色溶解有机物的分布特征及来源分析

在南极南设得兰群岛附近海域采集了6个表层沉积物样品,测定了提取液中溶解有机物(DOM)的有机碳含量、紫外-可见吸收光谱和三维荧光光谱,并对有色溶解有机物(CDOM)的分子量信息及各荧光组分的成分和来源进行了分析。结果表明,南设得兰群岛附近海域表层沉积物中DOM提取液的溶解有机碳(DOC)及沉积物有机碳(SOC)的含量呈现由近岸向开阔海域递减的趋势,紫外-可见吸收光谱中的吸收系数(a)也表现出了相似的性质,光谱斜率比(SR)表明近岸沉积物CDOM老化程度较强。通过对三维荧光光谱的分析可知,南设得兰群岛附近海域表层沉积物中的CDOM包含3种荧光组分,即类色氨酸、海洋类腐殖质和陆源类腐殖质,表现出较强的自生源特征,整个研究海域CDOM来源以内源为主,受陆生植物和土壤有机质的外源输入影响较小。通过CDOM各参数的相关性分析发现,沉积物DOM提取液的DOC含量与SOC含量以及吸收系数和腐殖化指数(HIX)等参数相互之间都呈显著正相关,相关系数(r)均在0.88以上,显著性水平P0.01。     

The 2004 May 28 Baladeh earthquake (Mw 6.2) in the Alborz, Iran: overthrusting the South Caspian Basin margin, partitioning of oblique convergence and the seismic hazard of Tehran

We use teleseismic waveform analysis and locally recorded aftershock data to investigate the source processes of the 2004 Baladeh earthquake, which is the only substantial earthquake to have occurred in the central Alborz mountains of Iran in the modern instrumental era. The earthquake involved slip at 10–30 km depth, with a south-dipping aftershock zone also restricted to the range 10–30 km, which is unusually deep for Iran. These observations are consistent with co-seismic slip on a south-dipping thrust that projects to the surface at the sharp topographic front on the north side of the Alborz. This line is often called the Khazar Fault, and is assumed to be a south-dipping thrust which bounds the north side of the Alborz range and the south side of the South Caspian Basin, though its actual structure and significance are not well understood. The lack of shallower aftershocks may be due to the thick pile of saturated, overpressured sediments in the South Caspian basin that are being overthrust by the Alborz. A well-determined earthquake slip vector, in a direction different from the overall shortening direction across the range determined by GPS, confirms a spatial separation ('partitioning') of left-lateral strike-slip and thrust faulting in the Alborz. These strike-slip and thrust fault systems do not intersect within the seismogenic layer on the north side, though they may do so on the south. The earthquake affected the capital, Tehran, and reveals a seismic threat posed by earthquakes north of the Alborz, located on south-dipping thrusts, as well as by earthquakes on the south side of the range, closer to the city.     

Paleoecological and paleoenvironmental record of the Late Pleistocene record of Lake Khubsugul (Mongolia) based on ostracod remains

This paper deals with the investigation of the upper 11.6 m portion of a long drill core (KDP-01) taken from the bottom sediments of Lake Khubsugul. Ostracod species and their assemblages recovered from the core were analyzed. The data are compared with the carbonate and sulfate values obtained from bulk sediment, as well as with the flux of the coarse terrigenous fraction (>200 m) from the same core. Based on the previously calculated depth-age sedimentary model, the oldest age of the core studied here is about 230 ka. The four ostracod species recovered in the core are Cytherissa lacustris, Candona lepnevae, Limnocythere inopinata and Leucocythere sp. According to the distribution of those ostracods, we distinguish four main periods, each of about 50 ka long. Based on the ecological requirements of extant ostracods, two assemblages typifying a low water level and high salinity, on the first hand, and another representing freshwater and high lake level are recognized. The first “high salinity” ostracods correspond to “cold” periods as seen globally, while “freshwater” ostracods are associated with interglacials. Ostracod valves are absent during interglacial optima. This may be due to chemical dissolution of calcium carbonate related to organic matter decay at the initial stages of diagenesis, probably because during interglacials, in contrast to glacials, organic matter flux reaching the lake bottom were significantly higher. The periodicity in the development of ostracod species assemblages follows 17, 24 and 47 ka cycles related to orbital forcing. Its diversity is correlated with summer temperature fluctuations in northern altitudes for the past 230 ka. The maximum in species diversity follows the temperature maxima, by about 1.5 and 2 ka. Overall, the data obtained demonstrate a correlation between climatic changes and variations in specific and quantitative ratios of ostracod species during the last 230 ka.     

GIS Investigation of the relationship of sex and season on the population distribution of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in Charleston,South Carolina

ABSTRACT

The Charleston Estuarine System Stock (CESS) of common bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) has been the focus of population monitoring for the past 20 years. Photo-id studies have determined abundance and survival estimates for this population, which exhibits high site fidelity in this area. However, fine-scale distribution, utilization patterns, and the driving forces behind these patterns are lacking. Using historical photo-id data and a novel application of geographic information system (GIS) analysis, the present study identified core use areas within Charleston Harbor, as well as patterns specific to sexes and seasons. Photo-id data of 319 dolphins sighted 11 times or more during 2004–2009 were analyzed. Heat maps were developed to examine spatial distributions using kernel density estimates (KDE) and were compared between sexes and seasons. Multiple high-density core use areas were identified for this population, with the most noteworthy near the mouth of the harbor toward the Atlantic Ocean. Fine-scale distribution varied across sexes, as well as seasons. Some areas were identified as more specifically inhabited by one sex, while other areas overlapped between sexes. Females were more tightly concentrated within their distribution while males were more dispersed. Although population distribution varied across seasons, sex distributions remained.