Characterization of microbial communities associated with African desert dust and their implications for human and ecosystem health

Desert winds aerosolize several billion tons of soil-derived dust each year, including concentrated seasonal pulses from Africa and Asia. Huge dust events create an atmospheric bridge over continents and oceans, and eject a large pulse of soil-associated microorganisms into the atmosphere. These dust events might therefore have a role in expanding the biogeographical range of some microorganisms by facilitating rare long-distance dispersal events. The goal of this study is to characterize the microbes associated with African dust events and determine if they pose a risk to humans or downwind ecosystems. Air samples were collected by vacuum filtration in a source region （Mali, West Africa） during dust events and plated on R2A media to culture microorganisms. These organisms were compared to those in similar samples collected in the Caribbean during Saharan/Sahelian dust events. A high-volume liquid impinger is currently being tested in Barbados, collecting aerosol samples during African dust events. Over 100 bacteria and fungi （19 genera of bacteria and three genera of fungi） have been characterized from source region dust events.     

Factors controlling the spatial and temporal variability of dust emissions

New field measurement techniques are allowing researchers to better understand how surficial properties affect the temporal and spatial variability of dust emissions. In this paper we review the current understanding of the dust emission process and present new field measurements that examine how three surface properties： roughness, crust strength, and temporal changes of surface properties affect dust emissions. These data were collected using three unique measurement systems developed by our team. Roughness exerts considerable control on the entrainment threshold and emissions of dust from a surface. We have carried out a series of experiments designed to quantify roughness effects on aeolian sediment entrainment and transport in a shear stress partitioning framework. Our results show that the model of Raupach et al. （1993） provides very good agreement with available data to predict the amount of shearing stress on the intervening surface among roughness elements, relatively independent of their size and distribution. However, element size affects the aeolian sediment transport process beyond that attributable only to the reduction of surface shear stress caused by the roughness. Additional interactions of the elements with the saltation cloud appear to reduce the transport efficiency and potentially dust emissions as well. The effect of crust strength on dust emissions was assessed using a newly-developed pin penetrometer, which can measure crust strength in-situ. Previous researchers suggested that variation in crust strength even within a small area could lead to considerable spatial variability in dust emissions. Our measurements showed that crust strength is highly variable over a scale of centimeters. This variability may help to explain some of the observed scatter in field measurements of dust emissions for what appear to be homogeneous surfaces. Variability of dust emissions in time and space was also evaluated using a new instrument, the Portable In-Situ Wind Erosion Lab （PI-SWERL） developed to measure dust emissions from soil surfaces.     

Naturally acidic and metalliferous waters at unmined volcanogenic massive sulfide deposits in the Bonnifield mining district, Alaska Range, east-central Alaska

The Bonnifield district hosts 26 tmmined volcanogenic massive sulfide （VMS） occurrences. Environmental geochemical samples of water and stream sediment were collected at several occurrences, concentrating on the two best-exposed and largest deposits, Red Mountain （RM） and Sheep Creek （SC）. Limited samples were also collected at the poorly exposed WTF deposit. The deposits are Late Devonian to Early Mississippian, and are hosted by felsic metavolcanic and carbonaceous schist members of the Totatlanika Schist or Keevy Peak Fm. Spring and stream waters at RM and SC have pH values commonly 〈3.5 （as low as 2.4 at RM and 2.5 at SC）, high conductivity （up to 11000 μS/cm）, and very high （Is to 100s mg/L） dissolved contents of Al, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Ni, and Pb. Waters at RM are characterized by extremely high REE contents （summed REE median 3200 μg/L, n=33）. At both RM and SC, pyrite oxidation and dissolution produce low pH waters that interact with and dissolve bedrock minerals, resulting in acidic, metal-laden, naturally degraded streams that are mostly devoid of aquatic life. Ferricrete is common. In contrast, WTF barely produces a surficial environmental footprint, mostly due to topography and relief. RM and SC are well exposed in the areas of relatively high relief, and both exhibit extensive areas of quartz-sericite-pyrite-alteration. While WTF shares many of the same deposit-and alteration characteristics, it is concealed by tundra in a large, nearly flat area. Surface water at WTF is absent and outcrops are sparse. Even though WTF is roughly the same size as Red Mountain （both around 3 million tonnes） and has similar base- and precious-metal grades, the surficial geochemical manifestation of WTF is minimal. However, exposure through mining of the altered, mineralized rock at WTF potentially could initiate the same processes of pyrite oxidation, acid generation, and mineral dissolution that are observed naturally at RM and SC.     

鲁北平原区暴雨成因及时空分布规律探讨

鲁北平原地处黄泛区，流域坡度较缓，降水量年际变化大，年内分配不均，且多以暴雨形式集中在每年的汛期(6～9月)，同时排涝河道层层建闸拦蓄，造成暴雨期排水不畅，极易积涝成灾。依据1951-2000年实测暴雨资料，对本区暴雨的成因、时空分布规律进行了探讨。     

黑龙江省水稻主栽品种热量指标鉴定及应用

本文主要从热量指标角度，通过黑龙江省水稻主栽品种的各生育期所需的活动积温、生育日数的实际观测，计算各生育期的有效积温、生育期下限温度。从热量资源的空间分布、可能生育期日数与各主栽品种全生育期活动积温、生育期日数的实测值作对比分析，讨论水稻各主栽品种的熟型和适宜分布区域。     

湿地植被生物量动态监测模式初步研究应用

湿地是地球上最富有生物多样性的独特的生态系统，其植被生物量的变化与气候因素（光、温、水）密切相关。运用遥感技术，在地理信息数据和GPS实地调查数据的支持下，选取VEGETATION数据资料，对湿地植被生物量动态监测模式进行了初步研究。     

蛭石资源概况及开发利用

概要地介绍了国内外蛭石资源的主要地质特征及其性质，进而简要说明了蛭石的应用领域、产品品种等方面的综合开发与利用。     

岩石破裂实验研究中强震发生前主破裂形成时能量释放过程的分析

分析用方程Q（t)=Q(t1) A1-A2(tf-t)^m[1 ccos(2πlog(tf-t)/p-φ)]来模拟强震前地震能量释放过程的一些条件，式中的Q（t)是在时间t以前所累积的“贝尼奥夫”总应变，tf是主震的时间，A1，A2，c,m,p,ψ都是模型的参数，Q（t1)是已知量（t1≤tf时）。表明在一定假定条件下幂指数m=α（2-d) 1。这里d是主震周围地震潜在震源群震中的尺寸，参数α决定着幂律。根据这个规律，地震时释放的地震能量和总能量的比值随地震的震级而变化。模型可用于分析实验研究岩石破裂释放声能的动力学，也适用于对堪察加一些强震前地震活动性的回溯性分析。     

浅谈我国项目管理计算机系统的应用现状与趋势

1 引言 2000年5月29日至31日,由中国勘察设计协会建设项目管理和工程总承包工作委员会在北京组织召开了“工程项目管理及其软件应用研讨会”,会议上我们探讨了建立项目管理计算机平台系统和应用系统的基本概念和方法,研讨了“为什么要用IT进行工程项目管理”和“怎样用IT进行工程项目管理”两个核心问题。 就“为什么要用IT进行工程项目管理”的问题,提出六方面的必然因素: ●是加快我国勘察设计行业与国际工程公司接轨步伐的     

塔里木地台西南缘皮山煌斑岩的^40Ar／^39Ar年龄及其地质意义

塔里木地台西南缘皮山县煌斑岩脉群为超钾系列的煌斑岩,侵位于元古宇角门片岩中。经~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar法测定,煌斑岩中金云母的等时线年龄为(231.7±0.3)Ma,全岩等时线年龄为(228.5±0.3)Ma。地球化学数据指示其源区为受俯冲