Reduced growth in hybrid tilapia (Oreochromis mossambicus ×O. Niloticus) at intermediate stocking density

Hybrid tilapia were reared at densities of 1, 5 or 10 fish per tank for four weeks. Mortality was 0 at 1 and 10 fish per tank, but was 25% at 5 fish per tank. Specific growth rate was highest at 1 fish per tank, and lowest at 5 fish per tank. The lower growth rate at the intermediate stocking density was associated with reduced feed efficiency, but there was no reduction in feed intake or digestibility. The results suggested increased metabolic cost caused by aggressive behaviour at intermediate stocking density, which can be suppressed by a further increase in density. This project was financially supported by the State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology of China and by Shanghai Fisheries University (Project SFU. 200003).     

Detecting Holocene movements of the woodland–steppe ecotone in northern China using discriminant analysis

Discriminant functions link vegetation zones and surface pollen along the woodland–steppe ecotone in northern China. These links were utilised to reconstruct palaeovegetation using fossil pollen data from four lake sediment sites within the ecotone. Holocene movements of the vegetation zones were derived from the above results and were interpreted as the results of climatic, topographic and edaphic factors. This study shows that climatic change was the driving factor for ecotonal movement, but that the positions of vegetational zones were nevertheless controlled by topographical and edaphic conditions, and consequently boundaries between different vegetational zones responded individualistically. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Current Flows in Pulsar Magnetospheres

The global structure of current flows in pulsar magnetosphere is investigated, with rough calculations of the circuit elements. It is emphasized that the potential of the critical field lines (the field lines that intersect the null surface at the light cylinder radius) should be the same as that of interstellar medium, and that pulsars whose rotation axes and magnetic dipole axes are parallel should be positively charged, in order to close the pulsar's current flows. The statistical relation between the radio luminosity and pulsar's electric charge (or the spindown power) may hint that the millisecond pulsars could be low-mass bare strange stars.     

Fluid Discrimination Based on Inclusion-Based Method for Tight Sandstone Reservoirs

Surveys in Geophysics - Fluid discrimination is challenging for reservoir prediction, especially for tight sandstones with special petrophysical properties. In this paper, we first review the...     

Retarding effect of concentration of cementation solution on biocementation of soil

Concentration of cementation solution (CCS) is one of the key factors influencing the cementation effect on soil improvement through the microbially induced carbonate precipitation (MICP) process. To precipitate more calcium carbonate per treatment, a higher CCS is needed. However, the MICP process may be retarded or even terminated with an increase in CCS. This retarding effect can be a major limitation for the MICP-based soil treatment and thus needs to be understood properly. This paper presents a systematic study on the conditions causing retarding and its effect on biocementation. The test results of this study have identified that there is retarding effect of CCS on the MICP process, showing that the calcium conversion efficiency, which represents the amount of calcium that has been converted into calcium carbonate in each treatment, reduces with the increase in CCS, and the concentration of calcium is the control factor. The retarding effect will dominate increasingly when CCS is higher than 1.0 M and the amount of calcium carbonate precipitation will reduce for the given amount and type of bacteria used in this study and become zero with CCS of 2.5 M. For the same calcium carbonate content, the unconfined compressive strength is greater for sand treated using a lower CCS as the contribution to the bonding strength by the calcium carbonate generated under a lower CCS is greater than that under a higher CCS.

     

渤海湾盆地冀中坳陷古潜山的三维地质结构特征

地质结构研究是开展盆地分析与油气勘探的重要基础。渤海湾盆地冀中坳陷以古潜山油气田著称于世,潜山地质结构的精细研究是深化油气勘探、进一步获得油气发现的关键。本文基于对覆盖整个冀中坳陷的2D 和3D 高精度地震资料的系统解释及对钻达潜山的数百口探井资料的综合整理与分析,开展了潜山地层与断裂系统的精细解析,整体揭示了潜山的三维地质结构。研究表明,冀中坳陷内发育长城系底、寒武系底、石炭系底、中生界底、古近系底和新近系底6个区域性不整合面,据此,在纵向上划分出7个构造层。冀中坳陷内切穿潜山顶面的断裂按其走向可以分为NE、NW 和近EW 向3 组。其中,NE 向断层最为发育,NW向断层多发育于坳陷中部偏东。以近EW 向的徐水-安新断层和衡水断层为界,将冀中坳陷分为北、中、南3 段,各段的构造样式存在明显的差异。从潜山成因类型的角度出发,根据潜山的地层组成、构造演化、控山断层及潜山本身几何学特征等因素,在坳陷内划分出42个潜山构造带,并详细总结了重点潜山带的发育特征。前中生代的构造-沉积演化为潜山的发育奠定了良好的物质基础,印支运动和燕山运动早期的挤压事件对潜山地层有着明显的改造作用,晚侏罗世以来的多期伸展控制了坳陷内不同成因类型潜山的形成-调整-定型过程。     

Diagenetic differences in tight sandstone reservoirs in two delta fronts: an example from the Chang 4 and 5 members of the Yanchang Formation in the Longdong area,Ordos Basin,China

With the intensification of oil and gas exploration, tight sandstone reservoirs have received an increasing amount of attention, particularly with regard to the genesis of tight reservoir rock. The Upper Triassic Yanchang Formation in the Longdong area of the Ordos Basin has developed a typical tight, oil-bearing, clastic reservoir (lithic arkose and feldspathic litharenite, grain size is mainly 0.1~0.3 mm in diameter). During the depositional period of the Chang 4 and 5 members, the two provenance systems of the southwest and northeast developed in the study area. In the southwest, sandstones in the lower part of distributary channels are coarser with fewer quartz overgrowth and ankerite and better reservoir quality (porosity about 12%, permeability about 1 mD). In the northeast, chlorite coating is thicker (>?4 vol%) in the underwater channel sandstones (porosity is about 14%, permeability is about 2 mD) than in the mouth bar sandstones. Sandstones in the upper part of distributary channels are finer with lower permeability (about 0.1 mD). Authigenic ankerite mainly appears around detrital dolomite as an overgrowth. The SiO₂ in the quartz overgrowth most likely came from the transformation of smectite to illite and the dissolution of feldspar. In the northeast, only 2 vol% of chlorite rims significantly inhibited quartz overgrowth, but they probably blocked and delayed the dissolution of feldspars by acids. We present results here that show the diagenetic differences in sand bodies in delta fronts are influenced by sediment size, maturity, and the composition of framework grain; the materials that compose authigenic minerals mainly come from the alteration of sandstones. As a whole, the formation of tight reservoir rocks in the study area is closely related to sedimentary facies, composition of framework grain, cement type and content, and development of dissolution.     

Utilizing crowdsourcing to enhance the mitigation and management of landslides

Landslides are mainly triggered by earthquakes and rainfall and have poor temporal predictability. Landslides pose significant threats to settlements and infrastructure in mountainous regions around the world. To mitigate this natural hazard, a new paradigm of landslide mitigation and management is required. Increasing smartphone ownership around the world, especially in developing countries, offers scientists an opportunity to embrace crowdsourcing so as to improve landslide research. This paper presents a new landslide information system (LIS) comprising a smartphone app and an administrative interface and database. The mobile app has been published for both iPhone and Android platforms. The interface of the smartphone app is powered by the highly-customizable Google Maps platform, which is overlaid with real-time landslide data. Users can choose between visualizing “known sites” and “contribution” of landslide data. The visualization option shows published landslides and areas that are susceptible. Users can contribute their GPS coordinates and multimedia to enhance landslide reports. A comparison with similar systems, potential applications, and challenges of using smartphone technology for mitigating landslides are also discussed.     

南极冰盖内部等时层研究进展综述

南极冰盖内部等时层记录了不同时期冰盖表面的特征及其演变,蕴含了丰富的冰下环境信息。目前,已成为研究大空间尺度与长时间尺度上南极冰盖演化及其底部环境的重要媒介。地球物理观测和数值模拟技术的综合使用,实现了南极冰盖内部等时层在大陆尺度上的可视化。通过这些内部等时层,冰川学研究将南极冰盖内部的古冰流与千年至百万年时间尺度的地貌及冰下环境的变化细节联系起来,得到了一系列数量化的结果。针对南极冰盖,综述产生内部等时层的冰盖动力学物理机理及其在冰川学上的应用,评估在五个方面的运用:(1)深冰芯断代与选址;(2)冰盖动力学过程;(3)冰盖物质平衡;(4)冰盖稳定性;(5)冰下环境。另外,基于对内部等时层的已有认识,对未来在内部等时层研究中可能需要强化的领域进行了归纳:(1)发展更精细描述并测试内部等时层结构时空变化的数值模拟技术框架面临的挑战;(2)如何从内部等时层蕴含的信息推断鉴别以目前南极冰盖作为初始条件的冰盖质量变化;(3)为获得更高分辨率的内部等时层结构图像,得到关于冰盖内部冰体形变与演化的更多数量化信息,如何强化冰盖冰下环境的重复观测。