Estuarine Habitat and Demographic Factors Affect Juvenile Chinook (<Emphasis Type="Italic">Oncorhynchus tshawytscha</Emphasis>) Growth Variability in a Large Freshwater Tidal Estuary

Estuarine rearing has been shown to enhance within watershed biocomplexity and support growth and survival for juvenile salmon (Oncorhynchus sp.). However, less is known about how growth varies across different types of wetland habitats and what explains this variability in growth. We focused on the estuarine habitat use of Columbia River Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha), which are listed under the Endangered Species Act. We employed a generalized linear model (GLM) to test three hypotheses: (1) juvenile Chinook growth was best explained by temporal factors, (2) habitat, or (3) demographic characteristics, such as stock of origin. This study examined estuarine growth rate, incorporating otolith microstructure, individual assignment to stock of origin, GIS habitat mapping, and diet composition along ~130 km of the upper Columbia River estuary. Juvenile Chinook grew on average 0.23 mm/day in the freshwater tidal estuary. When compared to other studies in the basin our growth estimates from the freshwater tidal estuary were similar to estimates in the brackish estuary, but ~4 times slower than those in the plume and upstream reservoirs. However, previous survival studies elucidated a possible tradeoff between growth and survival in the Columbia River basin. Our GLM analysis found that variation in growth was best explained by habitat and an interaction between fork length and month of capture. Juvenile Chinook salmon captured in backwater channel habitats and later in the summer (mid-summer and late summer/fall subyearlings) grew faster than salmon from other habitats and time periods. These findings present a unique example of the complexity of understanding the influences of the many processes that generate variation in growth rate for juvenile anadromous fish inhabiting estuaries.     

土壤地球化学测量在印尼某铜铅锌多金属矿区的应用

通过东南亚—西太平洋多岛地区的热带雨林特殊景观土壤的地球化学测量工作,圈定了12个Cu-Pb-Zn-Ag组合异常,其中6个异常工程验证见矿,扩大了矿体。12个异常中,Ⅰ-1号异常面金属量占全区总面金属量的62.48%,NAP评序值远远大于其他异常,异常元素达13个,是研究区浓集与矿化中心。研究表明,在热带雨林特殊景观地区,土壤地球化学测量与岩石地球化学测量相结合能有效地指导多金属矿床找矿。     

渤海湾西北岸大吴庄牡蛎礁测年与古环境变化

对位于渤海湾牡蛎礁平原东部的大吴庄牡蛎礁一个完整剖面的系统14C年代测定与校正表明,该礁体的持续时间约为1 600年(7 200~5 600 cal BP).以壳体生长纹层氧、碳同位素获得的礁体平均建造速率1 cm/yr来计算礁体的持续时间,结果仅为14C计年历时的三分之一.14C测年与壳体同位素计年结果的对比表明,礁体的每一水平层平均占据了一定的时间(约200年),这一时间段是不适宜礁体正常建造的"缓变型地质环境恶化期".礁体正常建礁层及水平夹层的时空分布与地区性气候变化曲线对比结果表明,水平夹层与正常建礁层的转换与地区性气温波动相对应.水平夹层代表的"缓变型地质环境恶化期",对应着地区性气温偏冷时期.     

Position and velocity reliability testing in degraded GPS signal environments

Reliability testing, namely receiver autonomous integrity monitoring (RAIM), consists of statistical testing of least-squares residuals of observations, e.g., on an epoch-by-epoch basis aiming towards reliable navigation fault detection and exclusion (FDE). In this paper, classic RAIM and FDE methods are extended with testing of range-rate residuals to find inconsistent velocity solutions in order to contribute to the reliability of the system with special focus on degraded signal environments. Reliability enhancement efforts discussed include a Backward-FDE scheme based on statistical outlier detection and an iteratively reweighted robust estimation technique, a modified Danish method. In addition, measurement weighting assigned to code and Doppler observations is assessed in the paper in order to allow fitting a priori variance models to the estimation processes. The schemes discussed are also suitable in terms of computational convenience for a combined GPS/Galileo system. The objective of this paper is to assess position and velocity reliability testing and enhancement in urban and indoor conditions and to analyze the navigation accuracy conditions with high sensitivity GPS (HSGPS) tests. The results show the necessity of weighted estimation and FDE for reliability enhancement in degraded signal-environment navigation.     

Phytoplankton biomass size structure and its regulation in the Southern Yellow Sea (China): Seasonal variability

Phytoplankton size structure plays a significant role in controlling the carbon flux of marine pelagic ecosystems. The mesoscale distribution and seasonal variation of total and size-fractionated phytoplankton biomass in surface waters, as measured by chlorophyll a (Chl a), was studied in the Southern Yellow Sea using data from four cruises during 2006–2007. The distribution of Chl a showed a high degree of spatial and temporal variation in the study area. Chl a concentrations were relatively high in the summer and autumn, with a mean of 1.42 and 1.27 mg m⁻³, respectively. Conversely, in the winter and spring, the average Chl a levels were only 0.98 and 0.99 mg m⁻³. Total Chl a showed a clear decreasing gradient from coastal areas to the open sea in the summer, autumn and winter cruises. Patches of high Chl a were observed in the central part of the Southern Yellow Sea in the spring due to the onset of the phytoplankton bloom. The eutrophic coastal waters contributed at least 68% of the total phytoplankton biomass in the surface layer. Picophytoplankton showed a consistent and absolute dominance in the central region of the Southern Yellow Sea (>40%) in all of the cruises, while the proportion of microphytoplankton was the highest in coastal waters. The relative proportions of pico- and nanophytoplankton decreased with total biomass, whereas the proportion of the micro-fraction increased with total biomass. Relationships between phytoplankton biomass and environmental factors were also analysed. The results showed that the onset of the spring bloom was highly dependent on water column stability. Phytoplankton growth was limited by nutrient availability in the summer due to the strong thermocline. The combined effects of P-limitation and vertical mixing in the autumn restrained the further increase of phytoplankton biomass in the surface layer. The low phytoplankton biomass in winter was caused by vertical dispersion due to intense mixing. Compared with the availability of nutrients, temperature did not seem to cause direct effects on phytoplankton biomass and its size structure. Although interactions of many different environmental factors affected phytoplankton distributions, hydrodynamic conditions seemed to be the dominant factor. Phytoplankton size structure was determined mainly by the size-differential capacity in acquiring resource. Short time scale events, such as the spring bloom and the extension of Yangtze River plume, can have substantial influences, both on the total Chl a concentration and on the size structure of the phytoplankton.     

Zircon geochronology and geochemistry to constrain the youngest eruption events and magma evolution of the Mid-Miocene ignimbrite flare-up in the Pannonian Basin,eastern central Europe

A silicic ignimbrite flare-up episode occurred in the Pannonian Basin during the Miocene, coeval with the syn-extensional period in the region. It produced important correlation horizons in the regional stratigraphy; however, they lacked precise and accurate geochronology. Here, we used U–Pb (LA-ICP-MS and ID-TIMS) and (U–Th)/He dating of zircons to determine the eruption ages of the youngest stage of this volcanic activity and constrain the longevity of the magma storage in crustal reservoirs. Reliability of the U–Pb data is supported by (U–Th)/He zircon dating and magnetostratigraphic constraints. We distinguish four eruptive phases from 15.9 ± 0.3 to 14.1 ± 0.3 Ma, each of which possibly includes multiple eruptive events. Among these, at least two large volume eruptions (>10 km³) occurred at 14.8 ± 0.3 Ma (Demjén ignimbrite) and 14.1 ± 0.3 Ma (Harsány ignimbrite). The in situ U–Pb zircon dating shows wide age ranges (up to 700 kyr) in most of the crystal-poor pyroclastic units, containing few to no xenocrysts, which implies efficient recycling of antecrysts. We propose that long-lived silicic magma reservoirs, mostly kept as high-crystallinity mushes, have existed in the Pannonian Basin during the 16–14 Ma period. Small but significant differences in zircon, bulk rock and glass shard composition among units suggest the presence of spatially separated reservoirs, sometimes existing contemporaneously. Our results also better constrain the time frame of the main tectonic events that occurred in the Northern Pannonian Basin: We refined the upper temporal boundary (15 Ma) of the youngest counterclockwise block rotation and the beginning of a new deformation phase, which structurally characterized the onset of the youngest volcanic and sedimentary phase.     

Characteristics of the low energy seismicity of central Apulia (southern Italy) and hazard implications

The central part of the Apulia region, in southern Italy, has been generally considered practically free from significant level of seismicity, but historical documentation, geological indicators and recent instrumental observations suggest that the activity of local minor tectonic structures could have been masked (and partly also induced) by that of major seismogenic structures located in the neighbouring regions. A revision of the central Apulia seismicity characteristics was conducted considering its space and time distribution, energy release rate and focal mechanisms, in view of possible hazard implications. To better constrain the seismicity rates inferable from the set of available historical data, special attention was paid to the declustering of a catalogue of low energy events (magnitude < 3.5) instrumentally detected in about 20 years: a new declustering procedure, useful for cases like to the one at hand, was purposely devised taking into account the peculiarity of local seismicity characteristics and the limitations of the available database. The results obtained by combining instrumental and historical data show that this area is affected by a rather sporadic seismicity, likely associated to a general tensional regime and possibly stimulated by the interaction with Apenninic and northern Apulia seismogenic activity. Even though less energetic, the local seismicity contributes to increase the moderately damaging shaking probability due to the activity of seismic sources located in the near areas, so to justify the adoption of at least a minimum level of caution in relation to the local definition of seismic protection measures.     

月表撞击坑自动识别与提取的新方法及其应用

月表撞击坑是月球最显著的地质构造特征。随着不同月球探测器探测数据的丰富与数据质量的提高,月表地质信息挖掘成为月球科学领域重要的研究内容。月表分布广泛的撞击事件的撞击机理研究和月表地质单元的地质年龄的判定等科学问题都离不开对撞击坑的研究。因此,对撞击坑进行识别和特征参数提取是挖掘以上月表地质隐含信息的基础和关键。针对目前用于撞击坑识别和特征参数提取的方法存在效率低下、应用范围有限等种种缺陷,提出了一种新的月表环形构造识别和特征参数提取方法,并且实现了定量自动化处理。首先,根据撞击坑环形构造特征,利用坡度指数提取坑壁多边形矢量要素;其次,提出并采用环形构造最小外包矩形法提取撞击坑的伪中心与伪直径;然后,以伪中心为中心点向外搜寻并确定撞击坑坑缘顶点;最后,利用三点定圆法确定撞击坑的中心位置和直径大小。以嫦娥一号CCD相机影像数据和利用CCD立体相机制作的DEM数据为数据源,选取不同区域、不同类型的月表撞击坑进行试验,并将计算结果与目前研究成果进行对比。结果验证表明,此方法可以推广到月表其他表面,并可应用于月表撞击坑形成机理研究和利用撞击坑大小频率分布测量的方法确定月表地质单元的地质年龄工作中。     

Metasomatism and the crystallization of zircon megacrysts in Archaean peridotites from the Lewisian complex,NW Scotland

Zircon megacrysts are locally abundant in 1–40 cm-thick orthopyroxenite veins within peridotite host rocks in the Archaean Lewisian gneiss complex from NW Scotland. The veins formed by metasomatic interaction between the ultramafic host and Si-rich melts are derived from partial melting of the adjacent granulite-facies orthogneisses. The interaction produced abundant orthopyroxene and, within the thicker veins, phlogopite, pargasite and feldspathic bearing assemblages. Two generations of zircon are present with up to 1 cm megacrystic zircon and a later smaller equant population located around the megacryst margins. Patterns of zoning, rare earth element abundance and oxygen isotopic compositions indicate that the megacrysts crystallized from crustal melts, whereas the equant zircon represents new neocryst growth and partial replacement of the megacryst zircon within the ultramafic host. Both zircon types have U–Pb ages of ca. 2464 Ma, broadly contemporaneous with granulite-facies events in the adjacent gneisses. Zircon megacrysts locally form?>?10% of the assemblage and may be associated to zones of localized nucleation or physically concentrated during movement of the siliceous melts. Their unusual size is linked to the suppression of zircon nucleation and increased Zr solubility in the Si-undersaturated melts. The metasomatism between crustal melts and peridotite may represent an analog for processes in the mantle wedge above subducting slabs. As such, the crystallization of abundant zircon in ultramafic host rocks has implications for geochemistry of melts generated in the mantle and the widely reported depletion of high field strength elements in arc magmas.