Spatial and diurnal distribution of invertebrate and fish fauna of a Zostera marina bed and nearby unvegetated sediments in Damariscotta River, Maine (USA)

Fish, epibenthos and macroinfauna were collected in a Zostera marina bed and nearby unvegetated sediments in the estuary of the Damariscotta River, on the mid-coast of Maine. Samples of epibenthic fauna and fish were collected at low tides both during day and night, and samples of infauna at low tides during the day. The mean density of Zostera shoots in the study area was 335 m⁻². Abundance and species number of fish were greater at night than during the day and greater in eelgrass beds (Z. marina) than in unvegetated habitats. Daytime fish collections were dominated by Atlantic silversides (Medinia medinia), while juvenile winter flounder (Pseudopleuronectes americanus) dominated night collections. Also Zostera-associated epifaunal abundances and number of species were significantly higher at night than during the day. Mysis stenolepis, Idotea balthica and Littorina obtusata were dominant species in the epifauna samples. Of the total of 37 invertebrate species encountered, only five occurred both in the infaunal and epifaunal samples. Nineteen different taxa were collected from the benthic core samples. The most abundant invertebrate infaunal taxa were sipunculids, the polychaete Nereis virens, and oligochaetes. Infaunal invertebrate abundances and species diversity were significantly higher in eelgrass beds than in unvegetated sediments. The abundance and number of species of benthic invertebrates were also positively correlated to seagrass biomass. Community diversity values (H′) were relatively low but fit well in the general pattern of decreasing diversity towards northern latitudes.     

The use of 18O/16O ratios to study the formation and chemical origin of coal

The ${}^{18}\text{O}{}^{16}\text{O}$ ratios of some New Zealand peat, lignite and coal samples were measured and compared with those of various coal precursors (cellulose, lignin and plant resins). The results showed that the major source of oxygen in all cases (except that of high rank coal) was from cellulose with the contribution from lignin and plant resins being insignificant.     

Including spatial distribution in a data‐driven rainfall‐runoff model to improve reservoir inflow forecasting in Taiwan

Multi‐step ahead inflow forecasting has a critical role to play in reservoir operation and management in Taiwan during typhoons as statutory legislation requires a minimum of 3‐h warning to be issued before any reservoir releases are made. However, the complex spatial and temporal heterogeneity of typhoon rainfall, coupled with a remote and mountainous physiographic context, makes the development of real‐time rainfall‐runoff models that can accurately predict reservoir inflow several hours ahead of time challenging. Consequently, there is an urgent, operational requirement for models that can enhance reservoir inflow prediction at forecast horizons of more than 3 h. In this paper, we develop a novel semi‐distributed, data‐driven, rainfall‐runoff model for the Shihmen catchment, north Taiwan. A suite of Adaptive Network‐based Fuzzy Inference System solutions is created using various combinations of autoregressive, spatially lumped radar and point‐based rain gauge predictors. Different levels of spatially aggregated radar‐derived rainfall data are used to generate 4, 8 and 12 sub‐catchment input drivers. In general, the semi‐distributed radar rainfall models outperform their less complex counterparts in predictions of reservoir inflow at lead times greater than 3 h. Performance is found to be optimal when spatial aggregation is restricted to four sub‐catchments, with up to 30% improvements in the performance over lumped and point‐based models being evident at 5‐h lead times. The potential benefits of applying semi‐distributed, data‐driven models in reservoir inflow modelling specifically, and hydrological modelling more generally, are thus demonstrated. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Government response to marine pollution from ships

The Marine Pollution Control Unit (MPCU) is the competent national authority for discharging the Secretary of State for Transport responsibility for pollution from ships under the Prevention of Oil Pollution Act 1971 and subsequent legislation covering other hazardous substances. It is an integral part of The Coastguard Agency, an executive agency of The Department of Transport. MPCU is responsible for maintaining the National Contingency Plan, for monitoring and assessing all pollution incidents within UK waters including dealing with pollution from ships and for advising on/co-ordinating shoreline counter pollution operations, and for fostering and maintaining international relationships for mutual support.     

微型抗滑桩单桩设计计算模型及算法研究

考虑微型桩与周围岩土体间摩擦力的作用,提出了一种新的微型抗滑桩单桩设计计算模型,并给出了具体算法。由微型桩加固滑坡体的变形特点,分析微型桩与岩土体之间的相互作用机制,将微型桩与周围岩土体的摩擦作用引入其受力分析中;根据微型桩上各部分受力特点的不同,将微型桩分成上部摩擦受拉段、中部滑坡推力作用段和下部锚固段3段进行分析,推导了微型桩总的变形控制方程及各分段的变形控制方程;采用初参数法对控制方程进行求解,得到了微型抗滑桩上的内力分布及变形规律。计算结果表明,在滑坡推力作用下,微型桩的变形主要发生在滑面附近及以上桩段,滑面附近桩段将产生较大的内力和弯曲变形,受拉段弯曲变形较小,近似水平移动;桩与岩土体间的摩擦力是微型桩与周围岩土体相互作用的重要组成部分,摩擦力的作用能显著减小微型桩的弯曲变形,有效控制滑坡体的位移。     

Nurturing Relationships: the gardens of Greek and Vietnamese migrants in Marrickville,Sydney

First- and second-generation migrants represent about 40 per cent of the Australian population. With such a large and also diverse immigrant population, urban landscapes are significantly shaped by the gardens created by migrants. Two groups of Vietnamese and Greek migrants, in the inner suburb of Marrickville South in Sydney, were interviewed to examine the relationship between migration history and garden-making practices. Garden composition was influenced by migrants’ relationship with their homeland, in terms of length of time since migration, previous garden ownership, reason for migration and desire for cultural continuity, and by the size of the garden. Gardens also varied according to country of migration. The actual garden produce and type of environment created by the garden helped to emphasise and maintain cultural relationships, provide a space of nostalgia, and give a sense of ownership and control.     

Pockmarks in the inner Oslofjord,Norway

Multibeam bathymetric surveys of the Inner Oslofjord, Norway have revealed a high density of pockmarks in the 179-km² inner fjord area, which contains over 500 pockmarks of varying size, typically 20–50 m in diameter and 2–10 m deep. These pockmarks have been investigated with a variety of techniques, including acoustic subbottom profiling, sedimentological and geochemical analyses of cores, remotely operated vehicle observation, and morphometry. Both the distribution and shapes of the pockmarks suggest that they are related to structures in the bedrock underlying relatively thin (<50 m) unconsolidated glacial and postglacial sediments. The data provide no direct indication of a particular mode of pockmark formation, but release of large amounts of biogenic, shallow methane seems unlikely. Several lines of evidence point to a continuous process of pockmark formation followed by inactivity, with some pockmarks recently active whereas others have been inactive for a considerable time. Some pockmarks are characterised by coarse sediment in their centres. The density, variety and easy access make this pockmark field an ideal model area for pockmark research. John S. Gray is deceased.     

新疆地区环境噪声层析成像研究

本文利用北京大学宽频带流动地震台阵和新疆地震监测台网12个月连续地震记录数据,采用环境噪声层析成像方法获得了新疆地区的周期从10~35 s范围内的瑞利面波相速度异常分布图像.研究结果与地表地质构造相一致,新疆地区的天山、两盆大地构造与瑞利面波相速度异常有较好的对应关系.短周期10~20 s的图像显示两个盆地内都呈现低速异常,对应盆地较厚的沉积层.中长周期25~35 s的层析成像结果显示东西天山地区存在明显异常差异.本文获得的新疆地区地壳和上地幔相速度结果,也为进一步结合传统天然地震面波成像方法,最终获得新疆地区的三维剪切波速度结构奠定基础.     

Earthquakes in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2006

This report of the Swiss Seismological Service summarizes the seismic activity in Switzerland and surrounding regions during 2006. During this period, 572 earthquakes and 91 quarry blasts were detected and located in the region under consideration. Of these earthquakes, two occurred in conjunction with the construction of the new Gotthard railway tunnel and 165 were induced artificially by the stimulation of a proposed geothermal reservoir beneath the city of Basel. With 20 events with M _L ≥ 2.5, five of which were artificially induced, the seismic activity in the year 2006 was far below the average over the previous 31 years. Nevertheless, six events were felt by the public, most prominently the strongest of the induced Basel events (M _L 3.4), which caused some non-structural building damage. Noteworthy are also the two earthquakes near Cortaillod (M _L 3.2), on the shore of Lake Neuchatel, and in Val Mora (M _L 3.5), between the Engadin and Val Müstair, as well as the 42 aftershocks of the M _L 4.9 Vallorcine earthquake, between Martigny and Chamonix, of September 2005. Editorial handling: Stefan Bucher     

Quaternary alluvial-fan development, climate and morphologic dating of fault scarps in Laguna Salada, Baja California, Mexico

Late Quaternary slip across the Cañada David detachment has produced an extensive array of Quaternary scarps cutting alluvial-fans along nearly the entire length (~ 60 km) of the range-bounding detachment. Eight regional alluvial-fan surfaces (Q₁ [youngest] to Q₈ [oldest]) are defined and mapped along the entire Sierra el Mayor range-front. Terrestrial cosmogenic nuclide ¹⁰Be concentrations from individual boulders on alluvial-fan surfaces Q₄ and Q₇ yield surface exposure ages of 15.5 ± 2.2 ka and 204 ± 11 ka, respectively. Formation of the fans is probably tectonic, but their evolution is strongly moderated by climate, with surfaces developing as the hydrological conditions have changed in response to climate change on Milankovitch timescales. Systematic mapping reveals that the fault scarp array along active range-bounding faults in Sierras Cucapa and El Mayor can be divided into individual rupture zones, based on cross-cutting relationships with alluvial-fans. Quantitative morphological ages of the Laguna Salada fault-scarps, derived from linear diffusive degradation modeling, are consistent with the age of the scarps based on cross-cutting relationships. The weighted means of the maximum mass diffusivity constant for all scarps with offsets < 4 m is 0.051 and 0.066 m²/ka for the infinite and finite-slope solutions of the diffusion equation, respectively. This estimate is approximately an order of magnitude smaller than the lowest diffusivity constants documented in other regions and it probably reflects the extreme aridity and other microclimatic conditions that characterize the eastern margin of Laguna Salada.