Vulnerability,pressures, and protection of karst caves and their speleothems in Ha Long Bay,Vietnam

This paper presents the results of morphological and microclimatic surveys and speleothem analyses of ten karst caves located in different isles in Ha Long Bay, a famous tourist attraction in Vietnam. Characteristically, the caves have enormous entrances, roomy interiors, but short length, typical of karst caves in tropical climates. The cave microclimate was found to be significantly dependent on the outside atmosphere and human activities. There was a clear spatial variation in macro features and fabrics of speleothems from entrance (porous, microcrystalline) to rear (solid, macrocrystalline) of the caves. Microstructure analysis with the use of an environmental scanning electron microscope shows a gradual decrease of biological activity and microclimate instability from outside to the innermost parts of the caves are the causes for this spatial variation. Past and present deterioration of caves and speleothems directly due to tourist activities and vandalism has been observed. On the other hand, there are signs of speleothem regrowth in the caves where tourism has been stopped. This study has proved that caves and their speleothems in Ha Long Bay are highly dynamic and understanding of their environment requires immediate methodological attention. Based on the analytical results, it is recommended that regulation of visitor frequency and removal of lamp-flora are necessary for sustainable development of the show caves and their speleothems.     

Long-term riverbed response of lower Tedori River,Japan, to sediment extraction and dam construction

Effects of sediment extraction and dam construction on changes of riverbed characteristics over yearly to decadal scales in the lower Tedori River of Japan are clarified. Over 1950–1991, the riverbed degraded in excess of 0.5–3.5 m. Concurrently, riverbed sediment volume of the 0–16 km reach decreased by 12.7 × 10⁶ m³. Intensive sediment extraction was the dominant cause of riverbed degradation during the period. During 1991–2007, an increase in riverbed sediment volume of 0.6 × 10⁶ m³ resulted in accretion of the riverbed by average depth 0.04 m. The cessation of sand and gravel mining (SGM), coupled with Tedorigawa Dam operation since 1980, was responsible for that accretion. Temporal change in riverbed elevation during 1950–2007 indicates that there were five phases of vertical adjustment. Combination of nonlinear regression models described four of these phases well. During 1950–1979, the first four modes of empirical orthogonal function analysis successfully captured temporal and spatial responses of the riverbed to natural and anthropogenic impacts. That is, the first mode explained the mean riverbed profile and temporal variation in riverbed sediment volume. The second through fourth spatial eigenfunctions reflected spatial variation in vertical adjustment rate for phases II, III and I, respectively. The corresponding temporal eigenfunctions explained the respective effects on the riverbed of SGM, of imbalance between sediment transport capacity and sediment supply, and of dredging activity.     

干旱区绿洲城市城镇化发展状况及协调性浅析——以吐鲁番地区为例

城镇化是一个国家或地区经济发展的必经途径,同时也是衡量某地区经济发展水平的重要标志之一。城镇化进程不仅关系到区域人口、经济和环境的可持续发展,还关系到区域平衡与区域生产效率,以致关系到区域的综合竞争力。利用2001—2011年吐鲁番地区人口、经济、社会和生态方面的相关数据,剖析吐鲁番地区城镇化系统,选出并构建吐鲁番地区人口、经济、社会和生态4个城镇化系统的6个评价指标体系,对指标进行定量分析;计算城镇化4个系统以及城镇化发展水平的综合评价指数及其各系统的协调度,根据各子系统评价指数建立数学模型,分析吐鲁番地区城镇化驱动因子以及制约该地区城镇化进程的影响因素;并推算出吐鲁番地区城镇化的变化和发展趋势。     

Farmers’ assessments of private adaptive measures to climate change and influential factors: a study in the Mekong Delta,Vietnam

Adaptation to climate change in agricultural settings depends on understanding farmers’ perceptions of the nature of climate change, their agency in adapting and the efficacy of adaptive measures themselves. Such knowledge can improve mitigation and adaptation strategies. This study addresses the limited understanding of how farmers appraise their private adaptive measures and influential factors. It uses data from structured interviews with 598 rice farmers in the Mekong Delta, Vietnam. Based on protection motivation theory, farmers’ assessments of private adaptive measures were measured by perceived self-efficacy, perceived adaptation efficacy and perceived adaptation cost. Multiple regressions were used to understand significant factors affecting those assessments. Some demographic and socio-economic factors, belief in climate change, information and objective resources were found to influence farmers’ adaptation assessments. It is shown that the sources and quality of information are particularly important. The improvement of both the accessibility and usefulness of local services (e.g. irrigation, agricultural extension, credit and health care) is deemed a necessity for successful adaptation strategies in the Mekong Delta. The paper also shows the application of PMT in measuring farmers’ appraisals of private adaptive measures to climate change, thereby opening this area for further research.     

Geoheritage values in the Cat Ba islands, Vietnam

Geological wonders have been generally known as natural wonderful products. Resulted from geological processes, geological wonders are diverse in size that have geoheritage values that should be protected from damaging of substance, form and natural development. In a large scale, geological wonders can be geoheritage areas, containing several geodiversity elements that are geologically important or in a smaller scale, they can be geosites of heritage values (or geoheritage sites). In the delimitation of areas, having geoheritage values and the establishment of geoparks, the first thing is to recognise them as geosites and geoheritage areas that indicate great geological values. Besides the Ha Long bay, the world natural heritage with its outstanding aesthetic and geological values, the Cat Ba islands are typical and grandeur karst landscapes formed in tropical condition. Based on the geodiversity elements with their own geoheritage values on aesthetics, uniqueness and grandeur in the Cat Ba islands, the authors have recognised three geoheritage areas: the south cape of the Cat Ba embayment, Tung Gau (shelter), and the Lan Ha bay. Sites where Brachiopods, Crinoids and Tetracorals are exposed on the way through the island are considered as palaeontological geosites. The folds of limestone layers in the northern part of Cat Co 3 beach, with typical turbidite structures in carbonate formations are considered as a lithological geosite. The Devonian-Carboniferous boundary near the Cat Co 3 beach is regarded as a stratigraphical geosite while Que Kem and Turtle islands, etc. are considered as geomorphological geosites.     

卫星资料在台风暴雨数值模拟中的应用

用ＰＳＵ／ＮＣＡＲ中尺度模式，采用ＥＣＭＷＦ资料对８２０９号台风带来的暴雨进行了控制试验，同时采用卫星和地面资料对原有初始湿度场作订正，进行了灵敏试验。对比分析表明，应用卫星资料后，模拟的台风暴雨及雨量中心强度与实况甚为一致。此外，由模式输出流场的分析表明，台风内部及其外围有显著的非对称气流和明显的中尺度系统结构。暴雨发生在低空非对称气流聚合和高空非对称气流辐散重叠区域；在强雨量中心区，低空有清楚     

Multi-hazard assessment using machine learning and remote sensing in the North Central region of Vietnam

Natural hazards constitute a diverse category and are unevenly distributed in time and space. This hinders predictive efforts, leading to significant impacts on human life and economies. Multi-hazard prediction is vital for any natural hazard risk management plan. The main objective of this study was the development of a multi-hazard susceptibility mapping framework, by combining two natural hazards—flooding and landslides—in the North Central region of Vietnam. This was accomplished using support vector machines, random forest, and AdaBoost. The input data consisted of 4591 flood points, 1315 landslide points, and 13 conditioning factors, split into training (70%), and testing (30%) datasets. The accuracy of the models' predictions was evaluated using the statistical indices root mean square error, area under curve (AUC), mean absolute error, and coefficient of determination. All proposed models were good at predicting multi-hazard susceptibility, with AUC values over 0.95. Among them, the AUC value for the support vector machine model was 0.98 and 0.99 for landslide and flood, respectively. For the random forest model, these values were 0.98 and 0.98, and for AdaBoost, they were 0.99 and 0.99. The multi-hazard maps were built by combining the landslide and flood susceptibility maps. The results showed that approximately 60% of the study area was affected by landslides, 30% by flood, and 8% by both hazards. These results illustrate how North Central is one of the regions of Vietnam that is most severely affected by natural hazards, particularly flooding, and landslides. The proposed models adapt to evaluate multi-hazard susceptibility at different scales, although expert intervention is also required, to optimize the algorithms. Multi-hazard maps can provide a valuable point of reference for decision makers in sustainable land-use planning and infrastructure development in regions faced with multiple hazards, and to prevent and reduce more effectively the frequency of floods and landslides and their damage to human life and property.     

Inspirations from the scientific discovery of the anammox bacteria: A classic example of how scientific principles can guide discovery and development

Anaerobic ammonium oxidation(anammox) is a relatively new pathway within the N cycle discovered in the late 1990 s. This eminent discovery not only modified the classical theory of biological metabolism and matter cycling, but also profoundly influenced our understanding of the energy sources for life. A new member of chemolithoautotrophic microorganisms capable of carbon fixation was found in the vast deep dark ocean. If the discovery of the chemosynthetic ecosystems in the deep-sea hydrothermal vent environments once challenged the old dogma "all living things depend on the sun for growth," the discovery of anammox bacteria that are widespread in anoxic environments fortifies the victory over this dogma. Anammox bacteria catalyze the oxidization of NH_4~+ by using NO_2~- as the terminal electron acceptor to produce N_2. Similar to the denitrifying microorganisms, anammox bacteria play a biogeochemical role of inorganic N removal from the environment. However, unlike heterotrophic denitrifying bacteria, anammox bacteria are chemolithoautotrophs that can generate transmembrane proton motive force, synthesize ATP molecules and further carry out CO_2 fixation through metabolic energy harvested from the anammox process. Although anammox bacteria and the subsequently found ammonia-oxidizing archaea(AOA), another very important group of N cycling microorganisms are both chemolithoautotrophs, AOA use ammonia rather than ammonium as the electron donor and O_2 as the terminal electron acceptor in their energy metabolism. Therefore, the ecological process of AOA mainly takes place in oxic seawater and sediments, while anammox bacteria are widely distributed in anoxic water and sediments, and even in some typical extreme marine environments such as the deep-sea hydrothermal vents and methane seeps. Studies have shown that the anammox process may be responsible for 30%–70% N_2 production in the ocean. In environmental engineering related to nitrogenous wastewater treatment, anammox provides a new technology with low energy consumption, low cost, and high efficiency that can achieve energy saving and emission reduction. However, the discovery of anammox bacteria is actually a hard-won achievement. Early in the 1960 s, the possibility of the anammox biogeochemical process was predicted to exist according to some marine geochemical data. Then in the 1970 s, the existence of anammox bacteria was further predicted via chemical reaction thermodynamic calculations. However, these microorganisms were not found in subsequent decades. What hindered the discovery of anammox bacteria, an important N cycling microbial group widespread in hypoxic and anoxic environments? What are the factors that finally led to their discovery? What are the inspirations that the analyses of these questions can bring to scientific research? This review article will analyze and elucidate the above questions by presenting the fundamental physiological and ecological characteristics of the marine anammox bacteria and the principles of scientific research.     

《工程测量学》双语教学的实践与评估

介绍工程测量学双语教学的具体实践过程,对工程测量学双语教学模式及教学效果进行了问卷调查、评估与分析,提出工程测量学双语教学存在的问题和应采取的改进措施。