Effects of tidal flushing on phytoplankton in a eutrophic tropical lagoon in Taiwan

The effects of tidal flushing on the abundance, productivity, and community structure of phytoplankton in response to eutrophication were examined every 2–3 months for more than 2 years in Tapong Bay, a tropical lagoon with only 1 tidal inlet connecting it to the sea in southern Taiwan. Water flushing time ranged from 4–12 d (8–25% d⁻¹) in the outer region subject to fast flushing to 8–24 d (4–12% d⁻¹) in the inner region subject to poor flushing. Chlorophyll a, cell number, and gross production (GP) rate of phytoplankton were significantly greater in the inner region than in the outer region. However, while GP rate was normalized by chlorophyll a (P^B) and was expressed as photosynthetic intensity, no significant differences were detected among the study sites. These parameters exhibited a unimodal seasonal pattern across all study sites, with greater values in summer and lower values in winter. No significant differences in species richness or Shannon–Wiener diversity were detected among the study sites. Nevertheless, diversity indices were significantly higher in winter and lower in summer. Classification of phytoplankton communities showed that the grouping patterns were primarily determined by sampling time. Ordination by non-metric multidimensional scaling (MDS) revealed a clear temporal continuum of changes in species composition across all study sites, suggesting that the communities were primarily structured by time, but that it was little affected by study site. Analyses of similarities (ANOSIM) showed that phytoplankton communities sampled in winter could be separated from those in summer, but others were barely separable at all. In summer, the most frequently observed species were the diatom Skeletonema costatum and the cyanobacterium Oscillatoria sp., and these shifted to the diatoms S. costatum and Cylindrotheca closterium in winter. Our results suggest that tidal flushing is an important factor for regulating responses of phytoplankton abundance and productivity to eutrophication in tropical lagoons, but the community structure was little affected due to horizontal mixing by the tidal circulation.     

Deformation Front Development at the Northeast Margin of the Tainan Basin, Tainan–Kaohsiung Area, Taiwan

The geological setting south of the Tsengwen River and the Tsochen Fault is the transitional zone between the Tainan foreland basin and Manila accretionary wedge in Southwestern Taiwan. This transitional zone is characterized by the triangle zone geological model associated with back thrusts that is quite unique compared to the other parts of the Western foreland that are dominated by thrust imbrications. The Hsinhua structure, the Tainan anticline, and the offshore H2 anticline are the first group of major culminations in the westernmost part of the Fold-and-Thrust belt that formed during the Penglay Orogeny. Structures in the the Tainan and Kaohsiung areas provide important features of the initial mountain building stage in Western Taiwan. A deeply buried basal detachment with ramp-flat geometry existed in the constructed geological sections. A typical triangle is found by back thrusting, such as where the Hsinhua Fault cuts upsection of the Upper Pliocene and Pleistocene from a lower detachment along the lower Gutingkeng Formation. The Tainan structure is a southward extension of the Hinhua Fault and has an asymmetric geometry of gentle western and steep eastern limbs. Our studies suggest that the Tainan anticline is similar to the structure formed by the Hsinhua Fault. Both are characterized by back thrusts and rooted into a detachment about 5 km deep. The triangle zone structure stops at H2 anticline offshore Tainan and beyond the west of it, All the structures are replaced by rift tectonic settings developed in the passive continental margin. On the basal detachment, a major ramp interpreted as a tectonic discontinuity was found in this study. Above the northeastern end of the major ramp of basal detachment, the Lungchuan Fault is associated with a triangle system development, while at the southwestern end a thrust wedge is present. It could be deduced that a thrust wedge intrudes northwestward. The area below the major ramp, or equivalent to the trailing edge of the basal detachment, mud diapers often occur in relation to the thickest deposits of the Gutingkeng Formation and caused by the mechanism of detachment folding     

Mean drift forces on an articulated column oscillating in a wave tank

An analytical solution is presented for calculating the regular wave induced respones of an articulated column in a wave tank. Extension of the procedure leads to calculation of second order mean drift forces and moments. Hydrodynamic interaction between a cylindrical column and the parallel walls of the tank is shown theoretically to be highly significant and experimental data are presented to corroborate this finding.     

Spatial variation of234Th scavenging in the surface water of the Bashi Channel and the Luzon Strait

Activities of dissolved and particulate²³⁴Th were measured to study the spatial variation of scavenging phenomena in the surface water of the Bashi Channel and the Luzon Strait. Using an irreversible scavenging model, the residence times for total, dissolved, and particulate²³⁴Th are 28–613, 8–156, and 7–306 days, respectively. Along the PR21 transect of the WOCE project, three major domains can be identified based on the hydrography and the²³⁴Th data: the Bashi Channel, the Northern Luzon Strait, and the Southern Luzon Strait. Tight correlation between the scavenging constant and the suspended particle matter (TSM) concentration in the surface water of the Northern Luzon Strait implies that TSM concentration is an important parameter in studying thorium scavenging.     

基于Mohr-Coulomb准则的黏弹-塑性海冰动力学本构模型

针对中小尺度下海冰动力作用过程中的漂移、重叠和堆积特征,在连续介质力学基础上建立了一个黏弹塑性海冰动力学本构模型.该模型主要包括四部分,即海冰在屈服前的Kelvin Vogit黏弹模型、海冰塑性屈服的Mohr Coulomb准则、屈服后相关联的正交流动法则和影响海冰强度的静水压力.采用黏弹塑性本构模型对规则海域内的海冰堆积过程进行了数值试验,其结果与传统黏塑性模型、改进的黏塑性模型和经典冰坝理论的解析解相符,可合理地模拟海冰堆积的动力过程.为进一步检验该黏弹塑性本构模型的适用性,对渤海海冰的动力过程进行了48h的数值模拟,计算结果与海冰卫星遥感现场观测资料一致.通过与传统的黏塑性和改进的黏塑性模型结果的对比分析,进一步验证了黏弹塑性模型在中小尺度海冰动力学模拟中的可靠性.在以上海冰堆积的数值试验和渤海海冰动力学模拟中均采用了光滑质点流体动力学(SPH)方法.     

A GPS-slaved time synchronization system for hybrid navigation

For multisensor integration, a primary prerequisite is time synchronization. Methods that have been used in many operational systems are either too expensive, or have inconvenient features, that make them inappropriate for research purposes. In this paper, the system design of a cost effective synchronization system (CESS) is described. Tests show that a synchronization accuracy of 0.4 ms can be achieved using this system. A land trial of GPS/INS integration verified that the CESS is accurate enough for most low-cost sensor integration applications. However, a more accurate synchronization can be achieved by minor modifications to the CESS. This system provides an ideal platform for researchers to build their own integrated multisensor systems.     

Laboratory simulation of water-resources conservation by means of the layout of a series of ponds along a streambank

 The purpose of this research is to describe a water-storage method that is more reliable than reservoirs, and to study the efficacy of interception and storage of surface runoff in ponds. In this method, a series of ponds is laid out along a streambank so that interception of surface runoff can be increased and more water can be stored in the wet season for use in the dry season. The simulated results show that the structure of a pond, vegetation and the extent of land development, topographic slope, and the degree to which a pond penetrates an aquifer affect the efficacy of interception and storage of surface runoff in ponds. Received, May 1996 Revised, July 1997, March 1998 Accepted, October 1997     

GPS/Pseudolite/INS integration: concept and first tests

This paper discusses the introduction of pseudolites (ground-based GPS-like signal transmitters) into existing integrated GPS/INS systems in order to provide higher availability, integrity, and accuracy in a local area. Even though integrated GPS/INS systems can overcome inherent drawbacks of each component system (line-of-sight requirement for GPS, and INS errors that grow with time), performance is nevertheless degraded under adverse operational circumstances. Some typical examples are when the duration of satellite signal blockage exceeds an INS bridging level, resulting in large accumulated INS errors that cannot be calibrated by GPS. Such a scenario, unfortunately, is a common occurrence for certain kinematic applications. To address such shortcomings, both pseudolite/INS and GPS/pseudolite/INS integration schemes are proposed here. Typically, the former is applicable for indoor positioning where the GPS signal is unavailable for use. The latter would be appropriate for system augmentation when the number and geometry of visible satellites is not sufficient for accurate positioning or attitude determination. In this paper, some technical issues concerned with implementing these two integration schemes are described, including the measurement model, and the appropriate integration filter for INS error estimation and correction through GPS and pseudolite (PL) carrier phase measurements. In addition, the results from the processing of simulated measurements, as well as field experiments, are presented in order to characterize the system performance. As a result, it has been established that the GPS/PL/INS and PL/INS integration schemes would make it possible to ensure centimeter-level positioning accuracy even if the number of GPS signals is insufficient, or completely unavailable. Electronic Publication