Effects of an Artificial Breakwater on the Distributions of Planktonic Microbial Communities

The summer distributions of planktonic microbial communities (heterotrophic and phtosynthetic bacteria, phtosynthetic and heterotrophic nanoflagellates, ciliate plankton, and microphytoplankton) were compared between inner and outer areas of Lake Sihwa, divided by an artificial breakwater, located on the western coast of Korea, in September 2003. The semienclosed, inner area was characterized by hyposaline surface water (<17 psu), and by low concentrations of dissolved oxygen (avg. 0.4 mg L¹) and high concentrations of inorganic nutrients (nitrogenous nutrients >36 μM, phosphate <4 μM) in the bottom layer. Higher densities of heterotrophic bacteria and nanoflagellates also occurred in the inner area than did in the outer area, while microphytoplankton (mainly diatoms) occurred abundantly in the outer area. A tiny tintinnid ciliate, Tintinnopsis nana, bloomed into more than 10⁶ cells L¹ at the surface layer of the inner area, while its abundance was much lower (10³-10⁴ cells L¹) in the outer area of the breakwater. Ciliate abundance was highly correlated with heterotrophic bacteria (r = 0.886, p < 0.001) and heterotrophic flagellates (r = 0.962, p < 0.001), indicating that rich food availability may have led to theT. nana bloom. These results suggest that the breakwater causes the eutrophic environment in artificial lakes with limited flushing of enriched water and develops into abundant bacteria, nanoflagellates, and ciliates.     

岷江上游毛榛、辽东栎灌丛及3种人工幼林土壤种子库的比较

本文采用野外调查与萌发实验相结合的方法对岷江上游地区自然恢复的灌丛以及 3种人工林的土壤种子库状况进行了比较研究。结果显示 ,各样地土壤种子库的储量为 192 5 0～ 3 13 60粒 /(m2 × 10cm)之间 ,人工林的土壤种子库储量和物种数量都大于自然恢复的灌丛 ,其顺序为连香树Cercidiphyllum japonicum、油松Pinustabulaeformis混交林 >连香树林 >油松林 >毛榛Corylusmandshurica、辽东栎Quercusliaotungensis灌丛 ,各样地土壤种子库密度的垂直分布均为上层 >中层 >下层。在各样地土壤种子库的生活型组成中 ,乔木种类所占比例极少 ,而草本种类的数量较多。在灌丛的土壤种子库中 ,灌木的物种数量及其在种子库中所占的比例均大于人工林。大序醉鱼草Buddlejamacrostachya、喜阴悬钩子Rubusmesogaeus、华西绣线菊Spiraealaeta在种子库中的大量存在明显提高了灌木在各样地土壤种子库中所占的比例     

软弱夹层几何参数对试样力学行为影响颗粒元模拟研究

基于离散元理论的颗粒元程序,采用颗粒接触连接模型和滑动模型,建立了含软弱夹层试样的颗粒元模型。通过数值模型实验,对不同软弱夹层几何参数试样进行加载模拟,探讨了不同夹层厚度及不同倾角条件下试样的破坏过程和破坏形式,并分析其对试样强度的影响。模拟结果表明,裂隙首先产生于软弱夹层处,随着荷载的增加,再逐渐扩展,呈现渐进性破坏特征;夹层越厚,倾角越大,试样沿软弱夹层呈现较强的滑动特征,如果夹层薄且缓,软弱夹层成为试样破坏的非控制因素;软弱夹层厚度和夹角对试样的峰值强度都有影响,随软弱夹层厚度和夹角的增大,试样的峰值强度降低。     

Use of laser range and height texture cues for building identification

Airborne LiDAR has found application in an increasing number of mapping and Geo-data acquisition tasks. Apart from terrain information generation, applications such as automatic detection and modeling of objects like buildings or vegetation for the generation of 3-D city models have been explored. Besides the height itself, height texture defined by local variations of the height is a significant parameter for object recognition. The paper explores the potential of the analysis of height texture as a cue for the automatic detection of objects in LiDAR datasets. A number of texture measures were computed. Based on their definition and computation these measures were used as bands in a classification algorithm, and objects like buildings, single trees, and roads could be recognized.     

Distribution and sources of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in sediments from Zhanjiang Bay and Leizhou Bay, South China

The concentrations and spatial distribution of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons have been investigated in two adjacent bays of Zhanjiang and Leizhou, China. The total concentrations of the 16 USEPA priority PAHs were ranged from 41.96 to 933.90ng/g dry weight with an average concentration of 315.98ng/g and ranged from 21.72 to 319.61ng/g with an average concentration of 103.91ng/g in Zhanjiang and Leizhou Bays, respectively. The spatial distribution of PAHs was site-specific and appeared to be somewhat positively correlated with TOC and negatively correlated with sediment grain size in the two bays. The values of Phe/Ant, BaA/228 and InP/276 were higher than 10, less than 0.2, and from 0.2 to 0.5, respectively, indicating that the sources of PAHs in the two bays were mainly from petroleum and its combustion, which predominantly originated from those ships and boats coming and going in the two bays.     

Origin of dyke swarms in Wadi El Redi-Wadi Lahami area,southern Eastern Desert of Egypt

Dykes predominate within the Neoproterozoic rocks, especially granites, of Wadi El Redi-Wadi Lahami area in the southern Eastern Desert of Egypt. The dyke swarms form three major suites: from the oldest to the youngest, they are basaltic andesite—Suite 1 (E-W and ENE-WSW), rhyolite—Suite 2 (NE-SW), and andesite—Suite 3 (NNE-SSW, NNW-SSE, and NW-SE). Despite the wide ranges of the dyke compositions, the feldspar and amphibole are usually the essential forming minerals. The plagioclase arrays between Ab_0.9An_99.10 in the basaltic andesite and Ab_98.80An_0.70 in the rhyolite, while sanidine ranges from Or_44.60Ab_49.70 to Or_98.40Ab_1.60. Amphibole in Suite 1 and 3 (Al₂O₃, TiO₂, Na₂O, and K₂O are the lowest and those of SiO₂ and CaO are the highest) samples are usually magnesio-hornblende, whereas it is edenite and tschermakite in Suite 2 dykes. Despite all parent magmas have calc-alkaline affinity, some elements such as Ni show an erratic behavior against the progressing differentiation from one magma chamber and implying for an assimilation of the country rocks. The high contents of amphibole, the depletion in Ti, and the enrichment in large-ion lithophile elements (such as K, Rb, Ba, Sr, and Ba) compared to the primitive mantle composition are consistent with parent hydrous melts generated due to extension above the subduction zone. The estimated compositions of liquids in equilibrium with amphiboles and the pressures at which they crystallized (4.61–7.8 kbar for the Suite 2 and 1.5–2 kbar for the Suites 1 and 3) are greatly varied. These are indications for a difference in the source regions of the parent magmas of the studied dykes. It is supposed that the Suite 1 and 2 dykes are a conjugate set emplaced due to the NW-SE crustal extension in the Arabian-Nubian shield, whereas the Suite 3 dykes generated due to the rifting along the Red Sea.     

Recession of Milam Glacier,Kumaun Himalaya,Observed via Lichenometric Dating of Moraines

Glaciers being very sensitive to climate change have been identified as one of the best indicators of climate change and evidences have proved that most of the Himalayan glaciers have receded with an increased rate during the recent past under the influence of global warming. Lichenometric study was carried out on the moraines of Milam glacier (located in Pithoragarh district of Uttarakhand) with the help of lichen species Dimelaena oreina having an average annual growth rate of 1.31 mm. The study revealed that Milam glacier has receded 1450 m in last 69.37 years with an average recession rate of 20.90 m/year. Since lichenometric studies are cost effective and ecofriendly in comparison to carbon dating, satellite and remote sensing based studies and also reliable, hence, it should be promoted in Himalaya which is an abode of glaciers.     

Mineralogical,geochemical and microfabric evidences of gypsum crusts: a case study from Budapest

High levels of SO₂ and particulate pollution enable the rapid development of gypsum-rich weathering crusts in Budapest. Two types of white crusts, thin and thick ones, and two forms of black crusts, laminar and framboidal ones, were studied in limestone buildings of the parliament and Citadella. The percentage of crust cover and damage categories were documented on selected walls. Petrographic, XRD, XRF and sulphur isotope analyses were performed under laboratory conditions to understand the mechanism of crust formation. White crusts found both on exposed and sheltered walls display a calcite-rich layer with gypsum, while black crusts are enriched with gypsum. The sulphur isotopic composition of white and black crusts overlaps, but the crusts are slightly enriched in heavy isotopes compared to rainwater. S content, Si/Al ratios and particulates in black crusts suggest that air pollution (SO₂, dust) contributes to black crust formation. The accumulation of sulphur and Zn enrichment of white crusts were also documented indicating that under high pollution levels, even these compound can accumulate on exposed facades.     

Observing changes in groundwater resource using hydro-chemical and isotopic parameters: a case study from Bist Doab,Punjab

The continuous and large-scale abstraction of groundwater has created a groundwater depletion problem in several parts of the Punjab state including Bist Doab, the interfluve region of Beas and Satluj rivers. In the present study, a few important parameters, viz. water level, stable isotope, EC, temperature, groundwater age, that can be used to fingerprint the over-exploitation of groundwater have been examined. It has been observed that with the increase in over-exploitation, the yield of shallow aquifer is progressively getting reduced and as a result forcing the farmers to sink their wells to deeper depths. With abstraction of deeper aquifer, the storage of old groundwater at the deeper aquifer is declining and getting replaced by induced accelerated inflow of young water from the recharge zone and the overlying shallow aquifer. The signatures of the modern water have been observed in the data analyzed for isotopic, hydro-chemical facies, electrical conductivity and temperature of water from deeper aquifer. The study has identified the usefulness of these parameters for identifying groundwater over-exploitation in the region. Depleting water resource may stagnate the economic progress of the region. The paper provides suitable water resource management strategies to be adopted to improve the sustainability of water resources and economic growth in the region.     

DISASTER ANALYSIS AND COUNTERMEASURES OF LAND SUBSIDENCE CAUSED BY COAL CUTTING IN CHINA

In recent years, many coal-producing countries have paid great attention to the land subsidence causedby coal cutting. In China, because of the dense population in coalfield areas, the land subsidence hazard is more seri-ous. After a brief analysis on the mechanism of land subsidence, this paper gives a comprehensive and systematical ac-count on all kinds of hazards caused by the land subsidence in China. The study shows that land subsidence has endan-gered land, buildings, traffic and communication lines, dykes and dams. It also causes damage to ecological and socialenvironment. In order to lessen the hazard of land subsidence, preventive measures should be taken to reduce the col-lapse amount, such as extraction with stowing, banded mining system, succession and coordination mining system, orhigh-pressure mudflow between rock strata. Measures of reinforcing or moving certain buildings should also be taken toreduce the destructive degree. In order to harness the subsidence land and bring them under control for fanning, mea-sures should be taken such as filling with spoil or fine breeze, excavating the deeper and covering the shallower land.