An exceptionally strengthened East Asian summer monsoon event between 19.9 and 17.1 ka BP recorded in a Hulu stalagmite

A stalagmite-based isotope record (No. H82) from Nanjing Hulu Cave, spanning from 16.5 to 10.3 ka BP, provided strong evidence for a coherence relation between the East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) and the North Atlantic climates on millennial time scales. Here we extend the high-resolution δ 18O time series back to 22.1 ka BP with additional 7 230Th dates and 573 stable isotope measurements on the lower part of that sample. The new record with a decadal resolution, piecing together with the previous data, p...     

圣安德烈斯断层帕克菲尔德段断层强度变化的远程触发

断层强度是孕震带的一个基本性质,它随时间的变化特性可以增加或减小断层破坏的可能性并最终触发地震。虽然断层强度变化可以用来解释诸如地震活动的远程触发（Hilland Prejean,2007）等多种现象,但至今还没有切实的方法对这个重要性质进行现场监测。文中我们认为,通过对圣安德烈斯断层帕克菲尔德地区近20年（1987～2008）的观测,揭示了一种监测断层强度的方法。     

1976年中国唐山地震序列的应力相互作用

研究了1976年中国唐山Ms7．8级地震两个主震事件和两个最大余震之间的静态应力相互作用。断层参数取自前人大地测量和远震波形反演结果。对于序列中的每个事件，我们计算了前面所有事件产生的包括孔隙压力变化的库仑破裂应力（CFS）变化。我们发现，在所有情况下，对于最优的力学参数得到的增加的库仑应力变化几乎涵盖了有关的整个断层。我们认为，应力相互作用在确定主震以外地区中何处可能发生大余震是很重要的。快速确定主震位置和机制，并结合对附近主要断层的认识，对后续事件的危险性评估是有用的。     

Correlation between plasmid DNA damage induced by PM_(10) and trace metals in inhalable particulate matters in Beijing air

Based on the study of Beijing PM10 bioreactivity with the newly developed plasmid DNA assay method, and analysis for trace elements of PM10, the cause of plasmid DNA damage by PM10 was investigated. The study showed that plasmid DNA oxidative damages by PM10 are of difference in different seasons at various areas. The concentrations of TM50 of PM10 in whole samples respectively collected at urban and comparison sites during winter were 900 μg mL?1 and 74 μg mL?1, while those in their corresponding soluble fractions were 540 μg mL?1 and 86 μg mL?1. In contrast, TM50 contents of PM10 from summer whole samples at urban areas and comparison sites were 116 μg mL?1 and 210 μg mL?1, whereas those in their soluble fractions were 180 μg mL?1 and 306 μg mL?1. The difference of bioreactivity of Beijing PM10 resulted from the variation of trace elements. The oxidative damage of plasmid DNA caused by Pb, Zn, As in PM10 (whole sample) was relatively strong. TM50 and Mn, V, Zn display stronger correlation in the soluble fraction. It implies that Zn could be the major trace element in Beijing PM10 which contributes to oxidative damage to plasmid DNA.     

地磁活动指数

一、行星性指数K和A 行星性指数表示地磁活动的一般状态,该指数是从位于中纬度地区(这是为了减少电急流的影响)经过挑选的一些地磁台计算出来的,并作为其余几十个地磁台的标准。但是,和所有的指数一样,由于地磁台的分布不够适当和外源场高度不规则,使行星性指数也蒙受其损害。例如,在某些情况下,极区亚暴对于所挑选的地磁台的磁照图是没有影响的,而在另一些情况下,也许由于极区电急流的赤道迁移,使得极区亚暴对磁照图也有很大的影响。实际上,行星性指数表示了许多外源场的扰动变化的混合效应,该指数对于地磁现象的相关研究是很有用的。     

华北克拉通周缘中生代造山型金矿床的氮同位素和氮含量记录

测试了华北克拉通周缘胶东、小秦岭-熊耳山、西秦岭、北祁连山西段和张宣大型矿集区内几个典型矿床及个别与矿床相关花岗岩中钾长石和绢云母的氮含量和氮同位素组成. 经过与以往地幔岩、花岗岩、变质岩和矿床的氮含量和氮同位素对比, 认为尽管华北克拉通周缘金矿围岩有前寒武纪变质岩、显生宙沉积岩、镁铁质火山岩和花岗岩, 但其氮同位素都显示出与花岗质岩石的密切关系, 此外地幔物质在一定程度上可能参与了成矿系统. 这一结论与以往的氢、氧、碳同位素研究相当吻合.     

Partial colony mortality reflects coral community dynamics: a fringing reef study near a small river in Okinawa, Japan

The relative performance of (i) percent live cover, (ii) colony density, (iii) generic richness, (iv) partial colony mortality, and (v) colony size of hard corals were evaluated to determine which variables best discriminated the coral communities near a small river in Okinawa, Japan. An analysis of their variance was undertaken across a combination of sites at three depths, at increasing distance from a river's influence (Zatsun River). The river provides a periodic and localized input of sediment and fresh water to the adjacent coral reef; the effects of which we assume attenuate at increasing distance from the river mouth. The mean frequency of partially dead coral colonies (i.e., the proportion of live coral colonies that were partially dead) presented the clearest and most reliable response to river affect, and the power to discriminate among sites improved steadily with increasing depth. Spatial examination of the prevalence of partial mortality, regardless of how long ago the infliction occurred, provides a clear window to long-term processes involving population and community change and indeed the reef building capacity of the communities.     

The effect of the "Prestige" oil spill on the plankton of the N-NW Spanish coast

Chlorophyll, primary production, zooplankton biomass and the species composition of phytoplankton and zooplankton were studied in 2003, after the Prestige shipwreck. The information obtained was compared to previous data series available for the area affected by the spill. A large data series on plankton variables for the N-NW Spanish coast existed, and therefore a realistic evaluation of the effects by comparison with the range of natural variability could be carried out. We emphasized the evaluation of impact during the spring bloom, the first important biological event after the spill. Some minor changes were observed occasionally, but they did not show any clear pattern and were more related to the natural variability of the ecosystem than to effect of the spill. Plankton community structure did not undergo any changes. Only a few species were more abundant during spring 2003 than in previous years. No significant changes were detected in the planktonic community during productive periods, such as the spring bloom and the summer blooms related to intrusions of East North Atlantic Central Waters. The lack of evidence of the effects of the spill on planktonic communities is discussed in terms of the characteristics of the fuel, the high dynamics of the water masses, the biological mechanisms through which the fuel from the surface waters is transferred to the sea floor and, particularly, the influence of the natural variability by means of large and meso-scale hydrographic processes in the area under study. At the present time it is not possible to determine any minor effects the spill may have had on the plankton owing to the great variability of the planktonic cycles and the short-term impact of the oil from the Prestige on the pelagic system.     

Beach morphodynamics forcements in oiled shorelines: Coupled physical and chemical processes during and after fuel burial

In November 2002, the sinking of the Prestige oil tanker off the Galician coast (N.W. Spain) caused the largest ecological catastrophe in the history of Spain, affecting the coast called the 'Costa da Morte' (Galicia, N.W. Spain). This work is focused on the study of the oil contamination of the intertidal area of two beaches located on this stretch of coast. The study of twenty cores extracted from both beaches has identified fuel embedded in the sedimentary column up to a depth of 2.38 m (this being the maximum depth of extraction). This, along with the presence of oil below the groundwater indicates the existence of a new factor which determines the burial of oil: the morphodynamic behaviour of the beach. Furthermore, this morphodynamic variation conditions the physical appearance of the buried oil. Four different types have been identified: tar-balls (cm), particles (mm), oil coatings on sediment grains and on emulsion, with distribution patterns conditioned by the degree of wave exposure. The analysis of the information obtained have permitted the development of a conceptual model of the burial and oil evolution in the sedimentary column in relation to wave exposure, and thus to the morphodynamic variability of the beach.