The Impact of Agricultural Practices in China on Land-Atmosphere Interactions

Human-induced land use changes and the resulting alterations in vegetation features are major but poorly recognized drivers of regional climatic patterns.In order to investigate the impacts of anthropogenically-induced seasonal vegetation cover changes on regional climate in China,harmonic analysis is applied to 1982-2000 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer(AVVHRR)-derived normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI) time series(ten day interval data).For two climatic divisions of South China,it is shown that the first harmonic term is in phase with air temperature,while the second and third harmonics are in phase with agricultural cultivation.The Penman-Monteith Equation and the Complementary Relationship Areal Evapotranspiration(CRAE) model suggest that monthly mean evapotranspiration is out of phase with temperature and precipitation in regions with signiffcant second or third harmonics.Finally,seasonal vegetation cover changes associated with agricultural cultivation are identiffed:for cropped areas,the temperature and precipitation time series have a single maximum value,while the monthly evapotranspiration time series has a bimodal distribution.It is hypothesized that multi-cropping causes the land surface albedo to sharply increase during harvesting,thereby altering the energy distribution ratio and contributing to observed seasonal vegetation cover changes.     

Microbial responses using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis to oil and chemical dispersant in enclosed ecosystems

Microbial responses to the addition of oil with or without a chemical dispersant were examined in mesocosm and microcosm experiments by using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis of bacterial ribosomal DNA and direct cell counting. When a water-soluble fraction of oil was added to seawater, increases in cell density were observed in the first 24h, followed by a decrease in abundance and a change in bacterial species composition. After addition of an oil-dispersant mixture, increases in cell density and changes in community structure coincided, and the amount of bacteria remained high. These phenomena also occurred in response to addition of only dispersant. Our results suggest that the chemical dispersant may be used as a nutrient source by some bacterial groups and may directly or indirectly prevent the growth of other bacterial groups.     

Blood metal levels and metal-influenced immune functions of harbour seals in captivity

Immunological blood parameters and the effects of environmental pollutants on the immune system are important to assess the health status of seals. Animals living permanently in seal centres are useful for development and validation of diagnostic tools for free-ranging animals. In this study, parameters of cellular immunity as well as metal concentrations in blood and metal influence on cell proliferation of seven seals from a seal centre were investigated repeatedly using multi-element analysis and a lymphocyte proliferation assay. The metal concentrations, except for tin and chromium, were in general comparable to those of free-ranging animals of the North Sea. The unstimulated and mitogen-stimulated lymphocyte proliferation showed strong intra- and inter-individual variability, which reflected variability in activation of the immune status. Furthermore, both immunosuppressive and stimulative influences of metals on lymphocytes were found. Summarising, the methods used in this investigation provided useful information on these animals, and their application to free-ranging animals can be recommended.     

Survival under chronic stress from sediment load: spatial patterns of hard coral communities in the southern islands of Singapore

Six reef sites were chosen along the west coasts of Singapore's southern islands, to: (1) quantitatively assess and compare coral community composition and structure, and recruitment rates, (2) assess the relationship between the aforementioned patterns and the environmental conditions, and (3) provide insights on potential processes that incorporate history at these study sites. Chronic exposure to high sediment load was the most obvious form of anthropogenic stress. Recruitment rates on ceramic tiles were low (1.4+/-1.0-20+/-14.7 recruits m(-2)year(-1)) but decreased towards the main island of Singapore as did hard coral cover and coral density. Coral fauna consisted of genera generally found in deeper waters (e.g., fungiids, foliose Oxypora, Leptoseris, and Echinopora) or those well adapted to turbid waters (e.g., Porites, Pectinia, Leptastrea, Montipora). Light extinction coefficient (K) and % live coral cover (%LCC) showed a strong and inverse curvilinear relationship (%LCC=13.60 *K(-3.40)). Similarly, the rate of sediment deposition (DFSPM) (Recruitment rate, RR=1.51-0.17 *DFSPM) and water clarity (RR=3.56-2.92 *K) exhibited strong and inverse relationships with recruitment rates. Although measured levels of the down-ward flux of suspended particulate matter and suspended solids were well within "normal" levels recorded in the literature, it was the proportion of benthic space, generic coral composition, and site history that offered compelling evidence of chronic exposure to increased sediment load. Clearly a reduction in both water clarity and live-coral cover has taken place since monitoring efforts began in the early 1970s, in fact coral cover has more than halved at all sites examined since the 1980s and benthic space was predominantly occupied by dead corals covered with sediment and filamentous algae.     

中生代燕山褶皱冲断带的构造演化—以河北省和辽宁省为重点的研究

从渤海湾和辽宁省开始 ,燕山山脉沿北纬 40°左右一直向西延伸到河北和内蒙古的边界。继续向西 ,以太古宙为基底的燕山山脉被上第三系所覆盖 ;因此 ,虽然内蒙古的阴山很可能就是燕山向西的延伸 ,但还缺乏有力的证据。中生代燕山褶皱冲断带以陆源沉积、岩浆作用和构造变形 (包括多期的褶皱作用 ,挤压、伸展及走滑断层作用 )为特征。对北京、冀北与辽西地区侵入岩及火山岩的野外工作及测年 (U Pb,40 Ar 39Ar方法 )研究揭示出该区中生代复杂的构造变形特征 ;而这种构造变形特征被归因于 :(1)中生代以前 (二叠纪到中生代早期 )复杂的早期变形序列 ,以及 (2 )中生代时期交替发生的主要构造形迹向南和向北的构造汇聚作用。燕山在中侏罗世之前 (早于 180 Ma)向南运动的低角度的逆冲断层发育在一条二叠纪三叠纪岩浆弧的南部 ,太古宙基底及元古宙和显生宙盖层均卷入其中。该次推覆作用可能是 (1)古生代时期蒙古弧与安第斯型的大陆弧沿华北板块的北部边缘发生碰撞的后果 ,或 (2 ) (北部陆块 )向南俯冲于华北太古宙“克拉通”之下时形成的 ,类似于美国科迪勒拉型的弧后、前陆褶皱冲断带。此次褶皱冲断发生之后 ,该推覆断层的上盘经历了广泛的剥蚀 ,随后中侏罗世火山沉积地层同时沉积在上、下盘之上。我们的研究表明     

Assessment of the ecological quality status of soft-bottoms in Reunion Island (tropical Southwest Indian Ocean) using AZTI marine biotic indices

The ability of the two synthetic marine biotic indices, AMBI and M-AMBI, to account for changes in the ecological quality of coastal soft bottoms of Reunion Island according to disturbances was assessed from macrobenthic samples collected in five sectors between 1994 and 2004. Samples were collected under non-perturbed conditions and at two sites subjected to heavy organic enrichment. Both indices are based on a classification of macrofauna into ecological groups (EG), and their transfer to tropical waters required some adaptations. These indices proved efficient in detecting a degradation of habitat quality. Their use resulted in the classification of all sites sampled between 1996 and 1998 as "good" or "high". M-AMBI nevertheless tended to result in the attribution of a slightly worse ecological quality status than AMBI. Together with an update of the EG species list for the Indian Ocean area, our results support the extension of both indices for the assessment of tropical soft bottoms.     

1959-1965水文地質工作的基本任务

正 为了完成工苏联共产党第廿一次代表大会给地质部门提出的任务,必须进行地质和水文地质测量,以便为有成效地进行各种矿物原料（其中包括象地下水这样的重要的矿产）的普查与勘探工作,提供必要的科学依据。但是苏联的领土在水文地质方面研究得不平衡和不充分,比地质方向要差得多。尽管苏联领土的水文地质研究程度是比较浅的,     

A possible precessing nozzle and the Lense-Thirring effect in blazar 3C 454.3

The kinematics of superluminal components in blazar 3C 454.3 are studied.Nine components are included:superluminal knots R1,R2,R3,R4,A,B,C and D(from Britzen et al.2013) and C4(from Pauliny-Toth 1998).We find that their kinematics derived from VLBI observations can be consistently interpreted in terms of a jet precession scenario with a period of about 14.5 yr.We discuss the model fits of their trajectory,distance from the core and apparent velocity.We show that the bulk Lorentz factor(in the range 4 to 15) derived for these components does not have any dependence on the phase of the precession(or position angle for ejection).The LenseThirring effect is assumed to interpret the precession of the jet nozzle.The results obtained for blazar 3C 454.3 are only suggestive.They are not unique and have yet to be tested,but they might be useful for understanding the kinematics of superluminal components in blazars and for disentangling different mechanisms and factors.     

Towards an operational use of space imagery for oil pollution monitoring in the Mediterranean basin: a demonstration in the Adriatic Sea

Studies of operational pollution carried out by European commission - Joint Research Centre in the Mediterranean Sea for the years 1999-2004 are briefly introduced. The specific analysis of the Adriatic Sea for the same period demonstrates that this area has been characterized by a relevant number of illegal discharges from ships. After setting the historical background of the project AESOP (aerial and satellite surveillance of operational pollution in the Adriatic Sea), the content, partners and aim of the project are presented. Finally, the results of the first phase of the AESOP project are presented. The results seem very encouraging. For the first time in the Adriatic, real time detection of oil spills in satellite images and an immediate verification by the Coast Guard has been undertaken. An exploratory activity has also been carried out in collaboration with the University of Ljubljana to use automatic information system (AIS) to identify the ships detected in the satellite images.