We examined the spatial and temporal variability in drift macroalgal abundance in two seagrass dominated estuarine systems
on the Texas coast: Redfish Bay (in the Copano-Aransas Estuary) and Lower Laguna Madre. Measurements of benthic macroalgal
variability were made in conjunction with a suite of biotic (seagrass biomass, percent cover, blade width and length, shoot
density, epiphyte biomass, seagrass blade C:N ratios, and drift macroalgal abundance and composition) and abiotic (inorganic
nitrogen and phosphorus concentrations, chlorophylla, total suspended solids, light attenuation, salinity, temperature, total organic carbon and porewater NH4+) indicators. All parameters were measured at 30 sites within each estuary semiannually from July 2002 to February 2004. Principal
components analysis (PCA) was used to examine relationships between drift macroalgal abundance and biotic and abiotic parameters.
In both Redfish Bay and Lower Laguna Madre, drift macroalgal distribution was widespread, and during three of four sampling
periods, abundance was equal to abovegro und biomass ofThalassia testudinum, the dominant seagrass. Drift macro algal abundance was highly variable within sites, between sites, and between seasons
in both estuaries. No significant differences in drift macroalgal abundance were found between Redfish Bay and Lower Laguna
Madre. In Redfish Bay, drift macroalgae (90.1±10.2 gm−2) tended to accumulate in bare patches within seagrass beds. In Lower Laguna Madre, drift macroalgae (72.7±10.7 gm−2) tended to accumulate in areas of dense seagrass cover rather than in bare areas. We found no relationship between drift
macroalgal abundance and low (<2μM) water column nutrient concentrations, and although several of our measured parameters
were related to drift macroalgal abundance, none alone sufficiently explained the variability in abundance noted between the
two estuarine systems. The contrasting patterns of macroalgal accumulation between Redrish Bay and Lower Laguna Madre likely
reflect differences in water circulation characteristics between the two regions as dictated by local physiography, in cluding
the shape and orientation of the lagoons, with seasonal variations in macroalgal abundance related to changes in freshwater
inflow and nutrient loading. 相似文献
Correlations in space and time play a fundamental role in earthquake processes. One direct manifestation of the effects of correlations is the occurrence of aftershocks due to the stress transfer in the vicinity of a main shock. Less obvious and more speculative changes in correlations may occur in the background seismicity before large earthquakes. Using statistical physics it is possible to introduce a measure of spatial correlations through a correlation length. This quantity characterizes how local fluctuations can influence the occurrence of earthquakes over distances comparable with the correlation length. In this work, the physical basis of spatial correlations of earthquakes is discussed in the context of critical phenomena and the percolation problem. The method of two-point correlation function is applied to the seismicity of California. Well defined variations in time of the correlation length are found for aftershock sequences and background seismicity. The scaling properties of our obtained distributions are analyzed with respect to changes in several scaling parameters such as lower magnitude cutoff of earthquakes, the maximum time interval between earthquakes, and the spatial size of the area considered. This scaling behavior can be described in a unified manner by utilizing the multifractal fit. Utilizing the percolation approach the time evolution of clusters of earthquakes is studied with the correlation length defined in terms of the radius of gyration of clusters. This method is applied to the seismicity of California. 相似文献
Precambrian fluvial systems, lacking the influence of rooted vegetation, probably were characterised by flashy surface runoff, low bank stability, broad channels with abundant bedload, and faster rates of channel migration; consequently, a braided fluvial style is generally accepted. Pre-vegetational braided river systems, active under highly variable palaeoclimatic conditions, may have been more widespread than are modern, ephemeral dry-land braided systems. Aeolian deflation of fine fluvial detritus does not appear to have been prevalent. With the onset of large cratons by the Neoarchaean–Palaeoproterozoic, very large, perennial braided river systems became typical. The c. 2.06–1.88 Ga Waterberg Group, preserved within a Main and a smaller Middelburg basin on the Kaapvaal craton, was deposited largely by alluvial/braided-fluvial and subordinate palaeo-desert environments, within fault-bounded, possibly pull-apart type depositories.
Palaeohydrological data obtained from earlier work in the Middelburg basin (Wilgerivier Formation) are compared to such data derived from the correlated Blouberg Formation, situated along the NE margin of the Main basin. Within the preserved Blouberg depository, palaeohydrological parameters estimated from clast size and cross-bed set thickness data, exhibit rational changes in their values, either in a down-palaeocurrent direction, or from inferred basin margin to palaeo-basin centre. In both the Wilgerivier and Blouberg Formations, calculated palaeoslope values (derived from two separate formulae) plot within the gap separating typical alluvial fan gradients from those which characterise rivers (cf. [Blair, T.C., McPherson, J.G., 1994. Alluvial fans and their natural distinction from rivers based on morphology, hydraulic processes, sedimentary processes, and facies assemblages. J. Sediment. Res. A64, 450–489.]). Although it may be argued that such data support possibly unique fluvial styles within the Precambrian, perhaps related to a combination of major global-scale tectono-thermal and atmospheric–palaeoclimatic events, a simpler explanation of these apparently enigmatic palaeoslope values may be pertinent. Of the two possible palaeohydrological formulae for calculating palaeoslope, one provides results close to typical fluvial gradients; the other formula relies on preserved channel-width data. We suggest that the latter will not be reliable due to problematic preservation of original channel-widths within an active braided fluvial system. We thus find no unequivocal support for a unique fluvial style for the Precambrian, beyond that generally accepted for that period and discussed briefly in the first paragraph. 相似文献
A decision support system (DSS) has been developed to assist expert and non-expert users in the evaluation and selection of
eco-engineering strategies for slope protection. This DSS combines a qualitative hazard assessment of erosion and mass movements
with a detailed catalogue of eco-engineering strategies for slope protection of which the suitability is evaluated in relation
to the data entered. The slope decision support system (SDSS) is a knowledge based DSS in which knowledge is stored in frames
containing rules that can evaluate the available information for a project, stored as project specific information (PSI) in
a data file. The advantages of such a system are that it accepts incomplete information and that the qualitative nature of
the information does not instil the user with a sense of unjustified exactitude. By its multidisciplinary and progressive
nature, the DSS will be of value during the initial stages of an eco-engineering project when data collection and the potential
of different eco-engineering strategies are considered. The accent of the output of the DSS is on the application of eco-engineering
strategies for slope protection as an environmentally-friendly solution aiding sustainable development. For its acceptance
within the engineering community, the DSS needs to prove its predictive capacity. Therefore, its performance has been benchmarked
against successful and unsuccessful cases of slope stabilisation using eco-engineering. The target audience and the areas
of application of this DSS are reviewed and the strategies for further development in this area suggested. 相似文献
The area of Serravalle, sited in the northern part of the town of Vittorio Veneto (TV), NE Italy, has been the target of a
seismic microzonation campaign. 10 seismic stations have been deployed for a 7 months period to record in continuous mode.
Three stations were installed on bedrock outcrops and seven on sedimentary sites with variable cover thickness. Spectral analyses
have been performed on the collected data-set using the Generalized Inversion Technique (GIT, e.g. Andrews, 1986). In particular,
spectral ratios have been calculated for each station relatively to the average of the three reference, bedrock sites. The
spectral ratios provide quantitative estimates of the seismic motion amplifications which occur in each of the monitored sites.
Two sites show high values of amplification, 5 times larger than signal amplitude at the reference sites, in correspondence
of well discernible peak frequencies of 5 Hz. Results for the other stations show smaller amounts of site amplification spreading
over a broad range of frequencies. Sites where the highest amplifications were recorded all lie on the left bank of the Meschio
River and in areas farther away from its outlet into the plain correlating with the presence of thick layers of Quaternary
deposits. 相似文献
A limnogeological reconnaissance study was carried out on Lake Iznik, located in the southeast of the Marmara region of Turkey,
involving a seismic survey and collection of short sediment cores. This lake is located on the middle branch of the North
Anatolian Fault Zone (NAFZ), a transform plate boundary between the Eurasian and Anatolian Plates. It is, therefore, tectonically
active and offers an opportunity to investigate the interplay of sedimentary and seismo-tectonic processes, as well as climate
change and human impact in the region. Short cores of the three sub-basins, maximum length of 35.5 cm, recovered non-laminated,
blackish clays and silts with varying amounts of biogenic and minerogenic (allochthonous, autochthonous) material, which documented
almost the last 80 years of deposition and environmental history. High sedimentation rates in the deeper core sections are
accompanied by changes in land use (conversion of woodland to farmland) in the northern areas of Lake Iznik, which caused
the deposition of more weathered material (high K/Na ratios) and higher contents of Mn in the lake. A tendency towards eutrophic
conditions within the last 20 years is indicated by high nutrient content (N, TOC, P), decreasing C/N-ratios, and characteristic
diatom and cladoceran associations. Also increased pollution is revealed by higher Pb, Cu, and Zn contents and increased supply
of human and animal faeces (high coprostanol content) during the last two decades. But simultaneous lower sedimentation rates
towards the core tops complicate the reconstruction of recent and past eutrophication and pollution states of Lake Iznik.
This requires an extension of the pilot study and deeper sediment cores, to recover non-anthropogenic influenced sediment
levels. 相似文献
This article discusses the involvement of older women and men in voluntary work in rural communities in the Netherlands. Gender,
ageing and civil society form the core concepts in the article. Politicians and policy makers in the Netherlands are worried
about the perceived decline of civil society and about the consequences of this decline for specific categories of older women
in terms of well-being and social exclusion. The paper presents the results of two surveys of involvement of older women and
men in civic organisations, voluntary work and local actions. The surveys indicate high levels of involvement of both women
and men. No gender differences are found in activity level. However, the data demonstrate the gendered nature of civil society.
Women are more engaged in informal voluntary work and informal local actions, while men are more active in formal organisations
and functions. This gender segmentation is not absolute, however. Many older women and men transgress the traditional feminine–masculine
boundaries. The surveys highlight the involvement of women and men in rural communities, but indicate lower activity levels
in urban areas. 相似文献
Lake Teletskoye occupies a narrow graben located in the northwestern sector of the Altai fold belt in South Siberia. The lake basin is thought to have formed during the Pleistocene as a distant result of the Cenozoic collision of India and Eurasia that caused a tectonic reactivation of the Palaeozoic Gorny–Altai (GA) and West Sayan (WS) blocks.The present work reports of a pilot fission-track study performed on 13 apatite separates collected from rocks that were sampled along two profiles in close proximity of the lake. The age–length data and AFT thermochronological modelling reveal two important phases of cooling in the Altai Mountains, a first one during the Late Jurassic–Early Cretaceous and a second one that started in the Miocene–Pliocene and that persists until today. The first event is interpreted to result from uplift-induced denudation probably related to the closure of the Mongol–Okhotsk Ocean; the second event can be linked to the young Cenozoic movements that lie at the origin of the formation of the Lake Teletskoye basin. 相似文献
A novel method for synthesis of aluminium hematites, based upon the homogeneous precipitation of Fe and Al oxinates in various proportions, is presented. The precursor precipitates are heated in air at 700?°C. X-ray diffraction, thermal analyses, BET, FTIR, optical reflection analysis, TEM and Mössbauer spectroscopy at room temperature and 80?K of the resulting products indicate that single-phase hematites are formed with structural Al substitution of up to 10 at%. Interestingly, the particle size (>100?nm) is not substantially reduced by the Al content. Although it remains difficult to obtain a homogeneously distributed Al substitution in the final hematite, this processing line offers a unique opportunity to separate the effects of grain size and Al substitution on the Morin transition temperature (TM) of Al hematite. From the comparison between the present hematites and a series of Al-substituted hematites with lepidocrocite as precursor, it could be shown that the effect on TM, associated with a change of a factor 10 in grain size, is about 1/3 of the effect caused by a change of 10 in the degree of substitution. Finally, it is suggested that proper thermal treatments under different conditions of the same precursors are likely to produce spinel phases. 相似文献
In the Archaean Pilbara Craton of Western Australia, three zones of heterogeneous centimetre- to metre-scale sheeted granites are interpreted to represent high-level, syn-magmatic shear zones. Evidence for the syn-magmatic nature of the shear zones include imbricated and asymmetrically rotated metre-scale orthogneiss xenoliths that are enveloped by leucogranite sheets that show no significant internal strain. At another locality, granite sheets have a strong shape-preferred alignment of K-feldspar, suggesting magmatic flow, while the asymmetric recrystallisation of the grain boundaries indicates that non-coaxial deformation continued acting upon the sheets under sub-solidus conditions. Elsewhere, randomly oriented centimetre-wide leucogranite dykes are realigned at a shear zone boundary to form semi-continuous, layer-parallel sheets within a magma-dominated, dextral shear zone.
It is proposed that the granite sheets formed by the incremental injection of magmas into active shear zones. Magma was sheared during laminar flow to produce the sheets that are aligned sub-parallel to the shear zone boundary. Individual sheets are fed by individual dykes, with up to 1000s of discrete injections in an individual shear zone. The sheets often lack microstructural evidence for magmatic flow, either because the crystal content of the magma was too low to record internal strain, or because of later recrystallisation. 相似文献