Nutrient Inputs, Phytoplankton Response, and CO2 Variations in a Semi-Enclosed Subtropical Embayment, Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii

The marine shelf areas in subtropical and tropical regions represent only 35% of the total shelf areas globally, but receive a disproportionately large amount of water (65%) and sediment (58%) discharges that enter such environments. Small rivers and/or streams that drain the mountainous areas in these climatic zones deliver the majority of the sediment and nutrient inputs to these narrow shelf environments; such inputs often occur as discrete, episodic introductions associated with storm events. To gain insight into the linked biogeochemical behavior of subtropical/tropical mountainous watershed-coastal ocean ecosystems, this work describes the use of a buoy system to monitor autonomously water quality responses to land-derived nutrient inputs and physical forcing associated with local storm events in the coastal ocean of southern Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii, USA. The data represent 2.5 years of near-real time observations at a fixed station, collected concurrently with spatially distributed synoptic sampling over larger sections of Kaneohe Bay. Storm events cause most of the fluvial nutrient, particulate, and dissolved organic carbon inputs to Kaneohe Bay. Nutrient loadings from direct rainfall and/or terrestrial runoff produce an immediate increase in the N:P ratio of bay waters up to values of 48 and drive phytoplankton biomass growth. Rapid uptake of such nutrient subsidies by phytoplankton causes rapid declines of N levels, return to N-limited conditions, and subsequent decline of phytoplankton biomass over timescales ranging from a few days to several weeks, depending on conditions and proximity to the sources of runoff. The enhanced productivity may promote the drawing down of pCO₂ and lowering of surface water column carbonate saturation states, and in some events, a temporary shift from N to P limitation. The productivity-driven CO₂ drawdown may temporarily lead to air-to-sea transfer of atmospheric CO₂ in a system that is on an annual basis a source of CO₂ to the atmosphere due to calcification and perhaps heterotrophy. Storms may also strongly affect proximal coastal zone pCO₂ and hence carbonate saturation state due to river runoff flushing out high pCO₂ soil and ground waters. Mixing of the CO₂-charged water with seawater causes a salting out effect that releases CO₂ to the atmosphere. Many subtropical and tropical systems throughout the Pacific region are similar to Kaneohe Bay, and our work provides an important indication of the variability and range of CO₂ dynamics that are likely to exist elsewhere. Such variability must be taken into account in any analysis of the direction and magnitude of the air?Csea CO₂ exchange for the integrated coastal ocean, proximal and distal. It cannot be overemphasized that this research illustrates several examples of how high frequency sampling by a moored autonomous system can provide details about ecosystem responses to stochastic atmospheric forcing that are commonly missed by traditional synoptic observational approaches. Finally, the work exemplifies the utility of combining synoptic sampling and real-time autonomous observations to elucidate the biogeochemical and physical responses of coastal subtropical/tropical coral reef ecosystems to climatic perturbations.     

北京通州某改造区土壤中DDTs和HCHs的地球化学特征及风险评价

选取北京通州环球影城附近某改造区为研究区域,共采集15件表层土壤样品,主要分析了该地区土壤中DDTs和HCHs的空间分布地球化学特征;采集垂向样品,并分析了DDTs和HCHs在土壤垂向剖面中的分布情况。表层土壤样品中大部分的DDTs和HCHs有检出,ΣDDTs的残留量为494~19615 μg·kg-1,ΣHCHs为082~1021 μg·kg-1。土壤垂向剖面分析结果表明,DDTs部分有检出,两剖面中残留量整体随深度变化不明显,但局部出现突变现象;HCHs全部检出,两剖面中残留量整体随着深度增加不断减少。参照国家相关标准对该区土壤环境整体进行评价,初步分析通州区环球影城地区土壤中残留DDTs除个别点符合二级标准外,其余都处于一级标准,残留风险较低;土壤中残留HCHs基本符合一级标准。结合不同异构体之间含量特征及分布,认为该地区局部近期可能存在HCHs输入现象。最后,对该改造区进行了健康风险评价,结果表明该区DDTs和HCHs在致癌风险和部分非致癌风险方面影响较小。     

阿尔金南缘阿克提山岩体锆石U- Pb定年、Hf同位素特征及构造意义

阿克提山花岗岩体位于阿尔金断裂南缘,其形成时代与区域内其他花岗岩体差异较大,该岩体走向明显地受阿尔金断裂带分支断裂控制。锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb年代学分析表明,该岩体结晶年龄约为262Ma,其形成可能与南阿尔金地区在华力西期-印支期发生的大规模线性构造运动有关。岩体的岩性主要为石英闪长岩、花岗闪长岩,其暗色矿物以角闪石、黑云母为主,岩石A/CNK值均小于1.1,显示准铝质—弱过铝质特征,属于高钾钙碱性系列;大离子亲石元素Rb、Th、K相对富集,高场强元素Nb、Ta、P、Sr、Ti明显呈负异常;稀土元素配分曲线具有中等负Eu异常,δEu的平均值为0.73,(La/Yb)_N平均值为14.57,说明该花岗岩体岩浆部分熔融程度较高。根据岩石学及地球化学特征可判断该岩体为I型花岗岩。锆石Lu-Hf同位素分析表明,锆石ε_(Hf)(t)值为+1.46～+9.14,均为正值,二阶段模式年龄的峰值平均为943Ma,表明其源岩主要为新元古代新生地壳物质的部分熔融。阿尔金断裂在印支期的走滑运动是从地壳深部的韧性变形开始的,随后在浅地表发生脆性断裂形成大规模走滑断裂带。阿克提山岩体的形成与地壳深部减压熔融有关。     

Evaluating groundwater resource of an urban alluvial area through the development of a numerical model

As established in the European Water Framework Directive, the development of groundwater numerical models is fundamental for adopting water management plans aimed at preserving the water resource and reducing environmental risks. In this paper, authors present a methodology for the estimation of groundwater resource of an alluvial valley, in an urban area characterized by a complex hydrostratigraphic setting and scarcity of hydrogeological data; the study area is the urban and sub-urban area of Rome (Italy). A previous, elaborated hydrostratigraphic model set the base for the development of 3D, steady state, sub-basin scale numerical model, implemented by the finite-difference code MODFLOW 2000^®; the water system components were derived by elaboration of available data. The alluvial aquifer of the Tiber River Valley, which runs in the middle of the City in a NNW–SE direction, has been analyzed in detail, since it is covered by a densely populated area hosting most of Rome’s historical heritage, and it is characterized by low quality geotechnical parameters. Results suggest that in areas with high hydrostratigraphic complexity and scarcity of hydrogeological data, a sub-basin scale, and steady-state numerical model can be very helpful to verify the conceptual model and reduce the uncertainty on the water budget components. The proposed steady-state model constitutes the base for future applications of transient state and local scale models, required for sustainable water management.     

Distribution and Abundance of Arsenic in the Soils and Sediments of O‘ahu,Hawai‘i

Lack of high-spatial-resolution soil and sediment arsenic data for Hawai‘i has generated substantial disagreement between researchers and regulators regarding the magnitude of natural levels of arsenic in Hawai‘i and rendered difficult the defining of areas of anthropogenically elevated arsenic. Our earlier research into the occurrence of arsenic in terrestrial and marine environments revealed widely disparate concentrations of arsenic with no apparent spatial pattern. To better understand the distribution and abundance of arsenic in soils and sediments of O‘ahu, we collected an additional 64 samples at locations chosen to represent different environments with varying degrees of human impact. We found surface arsenic values that ranged from 0.28 to 740 ppm with a median concentration of 8.1 ppm, which is above the global median of 5 ppm and US soil median of 5.2 ppm. Higher concentrations of arsenic (up to 913 ppm) were encountered at depth in soil cores. The median arsenic in streambed sediments from one of our earlier studies of 6.1 ppm was comparable to the conterminous US median of 6.3 ppm; however, we encountered arsenic concentrations as high as 43.9 ppm (median = 8.60 ppm, n = 75) in marine sediments in recent work off the leeward coast of O‘ahu. Overall, arsenic in the soils and sediments of O‘ahu is elevated relative to world and national values, but there still is no readily discernible pattern in the distribution of arsenic to explain these elevated values.     

Tsunami risk reduction for densely populated Southeast Asian cities: analysis of vehicular and pedestrian evacuation for the city of Padang, Indonesia, and assessment of interventions

A major tsunamigenic earthquake is expected in the near future along the coast of West Sumatra Province of Indonesia. In the city of Padang, the arrival time of the tsunami is expected to be ~30 min. Currently, there are approximately 400,000 people in the city living within the potential inundation zone. This study aimed to complement the existing research in appraising possible risk reduction interventions, specifically looking at enabling the timely evacuation of the area. This research, developed in consultation with national and local authorities, emergency planners and NGOs, analysed interventions for tsunami risk reduction in Padang through the development of a pedestrian and vehicular evacuation model and the appraisal of possible solutions to enhance the evacuation rates. Some of the conclusions from this research can be applied to other areas in Southeast Asia where the traffic patterns are similar to those in Padang and where the distance to safety is greater than 4–5 km. For the case of Padang, the results show that pedestrian evacuation is strongly preferable to vehicular evacuation due to the limited road capacity and the high population density. In the present situation, however, 70–80 % of the population in Padang could not evacuate within 30 min, even by foot. Common interventions such as widening roads and building bridges prove to be relatively ineffective in this case due to the large distance that has to be covered in a short time. These interventions would only have a decisive impact if a longer evacuation time was available (more than 60 min). In the case of Padang, the evacuation rate in the first 30 min is strongly dependent on the presence/absence of evacuation shelters, whose effectiveness is limited by the capacity of the structures. Building a few high-capacity and high-resilience structures such as evacuation hills is a more effective and robust evacuation strategy than constructing many small high-raised buildings. Even with evacuation structures, wider roads and bridges, about 20 % of the population would still be unable to reach safety by the time the tsunami arrives. This means about 70,000 people of Padang’s current population, which is rapidly increasing. The building of evacuation shelters may be a viable option for saving lives in the short term, but it is not a sustainable option in the medium to long term. It is therefore also necessary to set up and enforce regulations for land use planning that take into account the tsunami risk and prevent further urban development for the areas that may be affected by a tsunami.     

Separation of PP- and PS-wave reflected seismic data using two-dimensional finite offset common-reflection-surface traveltime approximation

Recently, the interest in PS-converted waves has increased for several applications, such as sub-basalt layer imaging, impedance estimates and amplitude-versus-offset analysis. In this study, we consider the problem of separation of PP- and PS-waves from pre-stacked multicomponent seismic data in two-dimensional isotropic medium. We aim to demonstrate that the finite-offset common-reflection-surface traveltime approximation is a good alternative for separating PP- and PS-converted waves in common-offset and common shot configurations by considering a two-dimensional isotropic medium. The five parameters of the finite-offset common-reflection-surface are firstly estimated through the inversion methodology called very fast simulated annealing, which estimates all parameters simultaneously. Next, the emergence angle, one of the inverted parameters, is used to build an analytical separation function of PP and PS reflection separation based on the wave polarization equations. Once the PP- and PS-converted waves were separated, the sections are stacked to increase the signal-to-noise ratio using the special curves derived from finite-offset common-reflection-surface approximation. We applied this methodology to a synthetic dataset from simple-layered to complex-structured media. The numerical results showed that the inverted parameters of the finite offset common-reflection-surface and the separation function yield good results for separating PP- and PS-converted waves in noisy common-offset and common shot gathers.     

Topographic predictors of susceptibility to alluvial fan flooding,Southern Apennines

The flooding susceptibility of alluvial fans in the Southern Apennines has long been neglected. To partly address this oversight, we focus on the region of Campania which contains highly urbanized piedmont areas particularly vulnerable to flooding. Our findings are based on stratigraphic analysis of the fans and morphometric analysis of the basin‐fan systems. Using geomorphological analysis we recognized active alluvial fans while stratigraphic analysis together with statistical analysis of the morphometric variables was used to classify the fans in terms of the transport process involved. The results indicate that in the geological context examined, the best discrimination between debris flow (Df) and water flood (Wf) processes is achieved by means of two related variables, one for the basin (feeder channel inclination, Cg) and one for the fan (fan length, Fl). The probability that an unclassified fan belongs to group Wf is computed by applying a logistic function in which a P value exceeding 0.5 indicates that a basin/fan system belongs to group Wf. This important result led to the classification of the entire basin/fan system data. As regards process intensity, debris flow‐dominated fans are susceptible to the occurrence of flows with high viscosity and hence subject to more severe events than water flood‐dominated fans. Bearing this in mind, the data gathered in this study allow us to detect where alluvial fan flooding might occur and give information on the different degrees of susceptibility at a regional scale. Regrettably, urban development in recent decades has failed to take the presence of such alluvial fans into account due to the long recurrence time (50–100 years) between floods. This paper outlines the distribution of such susceptibility scenarios throughout the region, thereby constituting an initial step to implementing alluvial fan flooding control and mitigation. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基于互信息量与BP神经网络的中长期径流预报方法研究

针对中长期径流预报因子的选择问题,采用互信息量方法筛选预报模型输入因子,在BP神经网络模型中,分别用均方误差和互信息量作为目标函数,衡量因子复合相关关系,优化选择最终预报因子并应用于碧流河汛期径流预报中。结果表明,基于互信息量筛选的预报因子与BP神经网络模型相结合,可有效识别多个预报因子与预报量间的复合相关性,对中长期径流预报因子的选择有很好参考价值。