ENCORE: the effect of nutrient enrichment on coral reefs. Synthesis of results and conclusions

Coral reef degradation resulting from nutrient enrichment of coastal waters is of increasing global concern. Although effects of nutrients on coral reef organisms have been demonstrated in the laboratory, there is little direct evidence of nutrient effects on coral reef biota in situ. The ENCORE experiment investigated responses of coral reef organisms and processes to controlled additions of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (N) and/or phosphorus (P) on an offshore reef (One Tree Island) at the southern end of the Great Barrier Reef, Australia. A multi-disciplinary team assessed a variety of factors focusing on nutrient dynamics and biotic responses. A controlled and replicated experiment was conducted over two years using twelve small patch reefs ponded at low tide by a coral rim. Treatments included three control reefs (no nutrient addition) and three + N reefs (NH4Cl added), three + P reefs (KH2PO4 added), and three + N + P reefs. Nutrients were added as pulses at each low tide (ca twice per day) by remotely operated units. There were two phases of nutrient additions. During the initial, low-loading phase of the experiment nutrient pulses (mean dose = 11.5 microM NH4+; 2.3 microM PO4(-3)) rapidly declined, reaching near-background levels (mean = 0.9 microM NH4+; 0.5 microM PO4(-3)) within 2-3 h. A variety of biotic processes, assessed over a year during this initial nutrient loading phase, were not significantly affected, with the exception of coral reproduction, which was affected in all nutrient treatments. In Acropora longicyathus and A. aspera, fewer successfully developed embryos were formed, and in A. longicyathus fertilization rates and lipid levels decreased. In the second, high-loading, phase of ENCORE an increased nutrient dosage (mean dose = 36.2 microM NH4+; 5.1 microM PO4(-3)) declining to means of 11.3 microM NH4+ and 2.4 microM PO4(-3) at the end of low tide) was used for a further year, and a variety of significant biotic responses occurred. Encrusting algae incorporated virtually none of the added nutrients. Organisms containing endosymbiotic zooxanthellae (corals and giant clams) assimilated dissolved nutrients rapidly and were responsive to added nutrients. Coral mortality, not detected during the initial low-loading phase, became evident with increased nutrient dosage, particularly in Pocillopora damicornis. Nitrogen additions stunted coral growth, and phosphorus additions had a variable effect. Coral calcification rate and linear extension increased in the presence of added phosphorus but skeletal density was reduced, making corals more susceptible to breakage. Settlement of all coral larvae was reduced in nitrogen treatments, yet settlement of larvae from brooded species was enhanced in phosphorus treatments. Recruitment of stomatopods, benthic crustaceans living in coral rubble, was reduced in nitrogen and nitrogen plus phosphorus treatments. Grazing rates and reproductive effort of various fish species were not affected by the nutrient treatments. Microbial nitrogen transformations in sediments were responsive to nutrient loading with nitrogen fixation significantly increased in phosphorus treatments and denitrification increased in all treatments to which nitrogen had been added. Rates of bioerosion and grazing showed no significant effects of added nutrients. ENCORE has shown that reef organisms and processes investigated in situ were impacted by elevated nutrients. Impacts were dependent on dose level, whether nitrogen and/or phosphorus were elevated and were often species-specific. The impacts were generally sub-lethal and subtle and the treated reefs at the end of the experiment were visually similar to control reefs. Rapid nutrient uptake indicates that nutrient concentrations alone are not adequate to assess nutrient condition of reefs. Sensitive and quantifiable biological indicators need to be developed for coral reef ecosystems. The potential bioindicators identified in ENCORE should be tested in future research on coral reef/nutrient interactions. Synergistic and cumulative effects of elevated nutrients and other environmental parameters, comparative studies of intact vs. disturbed reefs, offshore vs. inshore reefs, or the ability of a nutrient-stressed reef to respond to natural disturbances require elucidation. An expanded understanding of coral reef responses to anthropogenic impacts is necessary, particularly regarding the subtle, sub-lethal effects detected in the ENCORE studies.     

从钻孔温度看气候变化──方法介绍及实例

地壳浅层的地温分布与过去一定时期的地表温度变化之间有着内在的联系，地温场记录着地表温度变化的历史。由于地表温度是描述气候变化的重要参数，通过对钻孔地温数据进行分析处理，可以达到研究古气候变化的目的。美国东北部、加拿大东南部和中国四川攀西地区若干钻孔地温剖面的反演结果一致表明，这些区域在过去数百年间地表温度均有不同程度的升高。与研究古气候的其他方法相比，地热方法具有理论基础牢固和现成数据基础庞大的突出特点，这一研究方法在世界范围的广泛应用必将有助于揭开全球气候变化的奥秘。     

楔形构造在山前冲断构造位移量消减中的作用——以准噶尔盆地南缘为例

介于复活的天山造山带与稳定的准噶尔克拉通之间的准噶尔盆地南缘前陆冲断带,是印度板块与欧亚大陆碰撞的远距离效应产物,也是新近纪以来青藏高原隆升并向北推挤的直接结果.前陆冲断带吸收了来自造山带的水平缩短构造位移量后,克拉通一侧构造趋于稳定.准噶尔盆地南缘与世界上多数前陆冲断带构造地质特征相似,通过区域地震剖面的精细构造几何学和运动学解析,发现其中的楔形构造非常典型,是前陆冲断带内部冲断构造位移量消减的主要方式之一,控制着前陆冲断带分布范围和变形方式.准噶尔盆地南缘构造变形主要由南侧的天山造山带向北逆掩冲断,但是大部分冲断构造位移量是通过楔形构造反向传递后消减.紧邻天山北麓的齐古-喀拉扎-昌吉等构造带,山前深部的楔形体沿侏罗系西山窑组煤层向北扩展过程中,部分位移量沿构造楔顶部的反冲断层向南消减,并切割上覆地层形成第一排背斜带,另一部分位移量则继续向北传递,在断坡位置引发褶皱变形,形成霍-玛-吐第二排构造带和安集海-呼图壁第三排背斜带.准噶尔盆地南缘第二、三排构造带中-新生界内部发育多个小型的构造楔型体,这些互相叠置的楔型构造横向延伸不大,加大了构造变形的复杂性和构造圈闭识别的难度.     

The Preliminary Statistical Analysis of LAMOST DR8 Low Resolution AFGK Stars

We download the Large sky Area Multi-Object fiber Spectroscopic Telescope Data Release 8(LAMOST DR8)low resolution catalog for 6,478,063 AFGK type stars and plot the figures of effective temperature,gravitational acceleration and metal abundance.Some small and medium mass stars are evolved from pre-main sequence or main sequence stage to planetary nebula stage or white dwarf stage by the stellar evolution code MESA.We analyze the observed statistical data and model calculation results,and then o...     

水饱和裂纹对地壳岩样中地震波速及各向异性的影响

选择４种地壳岩石样品,经干燥或水饱和处理后在不同围压条件下测量了在其中传播的纵、横波的速度及其各向异性．在大气压条件下低孔隙度(＜１％岩样中,水饱和样品中的纵波速度明显地比干燥样品中的高,但横波速度的差别不大．因为在低孔隙度岩样中纵波速度对孔隙流体的反应比横波速度敏感,可以用泊松比的变化来反映随着围压的增加晶粒间流体对弹性波传播特性的影响．根据实验数据,按Ｏ’Ｃｏｎｎｅｌｌ模型分别计算了干燥和水饱和岩样中的裂纹密度,与通过实测体应变曲线得到的裂纹孔隙度十分吻合．利用横波的速度和偏振特性可以推断岩样中定向排列微裂纹的空间取向情况．研究表明,同时测量在岩样中传播的纵、横波的速度,通过Ｖｐ／Ｖｓ比值可以给出有关颗粒边界流体的证据,也可以估计岩样中的裂纹密度．     

大陆地壳（二）

全球地壳厚度等值线图(图6)显示了地壳厚度的双峰标度。海洋盆地的地壳厚度为6～7km(不包括4～5km的水层)，而大陆部分的平均厚度为39．7km。在海洋一大陆边缘的典型地壳厚度是30km，并向大陆内部逐渐增厚到40～45km。厚度超过50km的地壳局限在几个地区，包括中国西部的青     

Could CoRoT-7b and Kepler-10b be remnants of evaporated gas or ice giants?

We present thermal mass loss calculations over evolutionary time scales for the investigation if the smallest transiting rocky exoplanets CoRoT-7b (∼1.68R_Earth) and Kepler-10b (∼1.416R_Earth) could be remnants of an initially more massive hydrogen-rich gas giant or a hot Neptune-class exoplanet. We apply a thermal mass loss formula which yields results that are comparable to hydrodynamic loss models. Our approach considers the effect of the Roche lobe, realistic heating efficiencies and a radius scaling law derived from observations of hot Jupiters. We study the influence of the mean planetary density on the thermal mass loss by placing hypothetical exoplanets with the characteristics of Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune, and Uranus to the orbital location of CoRoT-7b at 0.017 AU and Kepler-10b at 0.01684 AU and assuming that these planets orbit a K- or G-type host star. Our findings indicate that hydrogen-rich gas giants within the mass domain of Saturn or Jupiter cannot thermally lose such an amount of mass that CoRoT-7b and Kepler-10b would result in a rocky residue. Moreover, our calculations show that the present time mass of both rocky exoplanets can be neither a result of evaporation of a hydrogen envelope of a “Hot Neptune” nor a “Hot Uranus”-class object. Depending on the initial density and mass, these planets most likely were always rocky planets which could lose a thin hydrogen envelope, but not cores of thermally evaporated initially much more massive and larger objects.     

阿斯南地震的余震发震构造及构造应力场分析

1980年10月10日阿尔及利亚的阿斯南（El ASnam）发生了Ms=7.2级地震。震后法-阿联合考察队布设了临时地震台网。其中有法国斯特拉斯堡地球物理研究所地震研究室,为作近场研究而布设的由8个地震站组成的遥测地震台网,取得了良好的记录,较精确地确定了各项地震参数。我们试用了J.A.Mendiguren所提出的“用综合节面解寻找不同震源机制分布区域的方法”,利用上述台网所取得的部分余震资料,对该区余震的发震构造及构造应力场进行了研究。     

作为赋存于花岗岩中钨锡矿化勘探指南的流体包裹体异常——前景展望

Studies of the distribution and abundance of fluid inclusions in granitic quartz associated with granite-hosted Sn-W mineralization of the British Isles reveal local and regional scale anomalies.At a sampling interval of c.5～50m,inclusion abundances increase towards zones of vein and stockwork mineralization exemplified by case history examples from exploration prospects in the Mourne Mountains of Northern Ireland and the Carrock Fell mining district of northwestern England.These steam aureoles provide a greater exploration target than the zone of visible alteration and mineralization and the lithogeochemical halo.But it is important to link them to geochemical data on fluid inclusion compositions,such as the semi-quantitative data from decrepitation-linked,ICP-AES (D-ICP)analysis,to optimize their exploration potential.Regional scale fluid inclusion anomalies,based on sampling intervals of c. 2km from the Sn-W mineralized granites of southwest England also broadly correlate with zones of intense mineralization in some areas. Regional-scale D-ICP analyses of quartz from SW England granites did not provide any convincing regional scale anomalies linked to mineralization except for positive boron anomalies around the centrally-mineralized Birch Tor area of the Dartmoor granite.Follow-up D-ICP analysis of quartz from stream sediments from this area,however,could be used to discriminate between samples related to mineralization from those draining unmineralized areas,using multivariate statistical analysis.At the present stage of development, the main contribution of fluid inclusion studies to mineral exploration is mostly limited to the conceptual stage where they continue to contribute to ore genetic theory and models.Costs and lack of knowledge transfer between research scientists and mineral explorationists limit their direct use during regional and target selection stages of exploration.Analysis of steam sediment quartz,using the more sensitive ICP-MS technique as a variant of the D-ICP method,appears to offer the greatest potential for future development as an exploration tool.