Mixed Land Use and Obesity: An Empirical Comparison of Alternative Land Use Measures and Geographic Scales

Obesity is a growing epidemic in the United States. Walkable neighborhoods, characterized as having the three Ds of walkability (population Density, land use Diversity, and pedestrian-friendly Design), have been identified as a potentially promising factor to prevent obesity for residents. Past studies examining the relationship between obesity and walkability vary in geographic scales of neighborhood definitions and methods of measuring the three Ds. To better understand potential influences of these sometimes arbitrary choices, we test how four types of alternative measures of land use diversity measured at three geographic scales relate to body mass index for 4,960 Salt Lake County adults. Generalized estimation equation models demonstrate that optimal diversity measures differed by gender and geographic scale and that integrating walkability measures at different scales improved the overall performance of models.     

高分辨率石笋记录的三峡库区小冰期气候变化

基于重庆水鸣洞石笋(NSM03)7个230Th年代数据和438个δ18O数据建立三峡库区1250~1750 A.D.时段分辨率约为1 a的δ18O记录。分析显示石笋δ18O值在1280 A.D.开始迅速偏重,在1300 A.D.附近偏到近500 a来最重,显示季风迅速减弱,库区进入小冰期。石笋记录显示小冰期存在明显的年代际尺度干湿波动,特别是在1400~1650 A.D.时段石笋δ18O值高频振荡,显示季风降水处于频繁波动期。功率谱分析显示石笋δ18O序列具有显著树轮Δ14C周期和ENSO准周期,揭示太阳活动是小冰期主要驱动因素,同时受到海气耦合作用影响。     

Evaluating the Temporal and Spatial Urban Expansion Patterns of Guangzhou from 1979 to 2003 by Remote Sensing and GIS Methods

China has experienced and is experiencing expeditious urban expansion in the recent decades, especially in the coastal areas and big cities. Rapid urban expansion and dramatic changes of landscape have caused great economic, environmental and social impacts consequently. It is crucial to understand urban temporal, spatial expansion patterns and their related effects. In this paper, urban expansion of Guangzhou, a rapid growing city in south‐east China, from 1979 to 2003 is studied temporally and spatially. Four time ranges including 1979–1990, 1990–1995, 1995–2000 and 2000–2003 are designed and the urban expansion area, expansion rate and the spatial expansion pattern are discussed by using remote sensing data and Geographical Information System (GIS) tool. Two transects are designed along two axes of Guangzhou expansion and the structural of urban expansion patches at different orientations are compared in order to quantitively understand the urban expansion of Guangzhou during the past 24 years. The gradient analysis integrating multi‐temporal data is performed in order to analyze and compare the spatial and temporal dynamics of urban expansion. Two indices of compactness and fractal dimensional index are used to describe the urban developing pattern in the study time durations. And the influence of different types of traffic roads to urban expansion is evaluated using the buffer analysis of GIS. The results show that: (1) temporally, urban area of Guangzhou increase 296.54 km² from 141.15 km² in 1979 to 437.70 km² in 2003 and the increasing rate is up to 210.08%; (2) spatially, Guangzhou has different urban expanding directions in different stages and the general expanding directions are towards northeast, north, southeast and north in four studied time ranges; (3) transportation lines play a very important role in urban expansion of Guangzhou, but different types of road have different impacts. National roads and highways exhibit stronger control to urban expansion than provincial roads; and (4) expansion of Guangzhou has gradually changed from a compact pattern to leapfrogging and disordering patterns.     

WEBGIS技术在地震前兆台网中的应用

使用WEBGIS技术,结合地震前兆台网的实际情况,设计完成地震前兆台网的GIS展示工具.该工具以互联网为媒介,使用地理空间数据库存储的全国台站数据,对全国范围内的物理场分布在网络客户端进行发布,方便地震前兆台网用户获取数据,同时丰富地震前兆数据的展示方式.     

定量地震地貌学研究进展

定量地震地貌学以三维地震数据为基础,通过对地貌特征参数的定量分析来了解盆地历史、沉积过程和填充构架,在沉积体系定量分析和储层表征方面为一新方向.其主要研究内容包括系统地质研究、地震属性分析、地貌特征定量分析、沉积单元交汇分析和沉积体系影响因素研究等五方面,核心为多数据融合及沉积单元形态定量数据的利用.定量地震地貌学在冲积河道、三角洲、浊积水道、水下扇储层特征及结构研究方面已取得较大突破,在地层沉积定量研究、储集体规模预测方面具有较大优势和前景.     

Incorporating the LCIA concept into fuzzy risk assessment as a tool for environmental impact assessment

Environmental impact assessment (EIA) is a procedural tool for environmental management that identifies, predicts, evaluates and mitigates the environmental impact of development proposals. In the process of EIA, EIA reports, prepared by developers, are expected to delineate the environmental impact, but in practice they usually determine whether the amounts or concentrations of pollutants comply with the relevant standards. Actually, many analytical tools can improve the analysis of environmental impact in EIA reports, such as life cycle assessment (LCA) and environmental risk assessment (ERA). Life cycle impact assessment (LCIA) is one of steps in LCA that takes account of the causal relationships between environmental hazards and damage. Incorporating the concept of LCIA into an ERA as an integrated tool for the preparation of EIA reports extends the focus of the reports from the regulatory compliance of the environmental impact, to determine the significance of the environmental impact. Sometimes, when using integrated tools, it is necessary to consider fuzzy situations, because of a lack of sufficient information; therefore, so ERA should be generalized to a fuzzy risk assessment (FRA). Therefore, this paper proposes the integration of a LCIA and a FRA as an assessment tool for the preparation of EIA reports, whereby the LCIA clearly identifies the causal linkage for hazard–pathway–receptor–damage and then better explain the significance of the impact; furthermore, a FRA copes with fuzzy and probabilistic situations in the assessment of pollution severity and the estimation of exposure probability. Finally, the use of the proposed methodology is demonstrated in a case study of the expansion plan for the world’s largest plastics processing factory.     

湿地极危植物中华水韭孢子育苗及幼孢苗管护

采用土壤和改良的Knop’s固体培养基培养湿地敏感植物、国家一级保护极危蕨类中华水韭(Isoetes sinensis),并获得有性生殖苗;观察记录了配子体发育及幼孢苗发生各阶段的详细过程;总结了幼孢苗的人工管护技术;分析讨论了配子体发育与环境因素间的规律、幼孢苗复壮对策以及病虫害类别、病症及其防治措施等.研究结果表明,中华水韭孢子在22～28℃、光照强度为60 μmol/(m2·s)、每日光照14h和黑暗10h的条件下,可达到90.3％的成熟率;已完成中华水韭的生活史,掌握了孢子育苗及日常管护方法,获得孢苗5 000棵,长势良好,出现孢子囊,以期为回归原产地,拯救该野生种群及湿地保护提供一定的理论依据和可靠的技术支撑.     

大气阻力引起卫星轨道衰减的数值模拟

本文以德国低轨道卫星CHAMP为例,联合考虑地球扁率和大气阻力摄动的影响,对相应摄动方程进行数值积分,计算轨道根数变化,并进而计算得到卫星空间位置,由此模拟考察大气阻力引起的轨道高度衰减.模拟中使用综合考虑了太阳辐射和磁暴等多种因素影响的最新国际大气标准JB2008模式来计算热层大气密度. 选取CHAMP卫星轨道高度自然衰减（无点火提升卫星高度操作）的2005全年进行模拟;为了考察不同年份阻力系数的可能变化,对2002年1—3月处在较大高度的轨道也进行了模拟.考虑到CHAMP卫星的特殊几何构形及飞行高度的热层温度条件,取阻力系数大于2.8,并在一定范围内变化,以求得模拟与实际轨道衰减符合较好.结果表明,对于2005年,阻力系数为2.91时模拟得到的轨道高度的衰减与实际轨道衰减符合得最好,模拟与实际轨道半长轴全年的标准偏差为81m;在卫星高度稍高的2002年,模拟的最佳阻力系数为3.0;模拟所得最佳阻力系数值比传统使用的值2.2大30%以上.由于在模拟中忽略了高阶保守力分量,所得近/远地点高度没有出现实际轨道所显示的周期性起伏.     

Heavy metal pollution and assessment in the tidal flat sediments of Haizhou Bay,China

The heavy metal inventory and the ecological risk of the tidal flat sediments in Haizhou Bay were investigated. Results show that the average concentrations of heavy metals in the surface sediments exceeded the environment background values of Jiangsu Province coastal soil, suggesting that the surface sediments were mainly polluted by heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Mn, Pb and Zn). In addition, the profiles of heavy metals fluxes can reflect the socio-economic development of Lianyungang City, and heavy metals inputs were attributed to anthropogenic activities. Cr, Cu, Pb and Zn were mainly present in the non-bioavailable residual form in surface sediments, whereas Cd and Mn were predominantly in the highly mobile acid soluble and reducible fractions. The ecological risk of the polluted sediments stemmed mainly from Cd and Pb. According to the Sediment quality guidelines (SQGs), however, the adverse biological effects caused by the heavy metals occasionally occurred in tidal flat.     

Primary dolostone related to the Cretaceous lacustrine hydrothermal sedimentation in Qingxi sag, Jiuquan Basin on the northern Tibetan Plateau

Based on comprehensive studies in petrography, petrofabric analysis and geochemistry, this paper describes a unique and rare laminated micritic ferruginous primary dolostone crystallized and precipitated from the alkaline hot brine under the conditions of the Mesozoic faulted lake basin. The main rock-forming mineral of this dolostone is ferruginous dolomite with a micritic structure. This dolomite mostly exhibits laminae of 0.1–1 mm thick and is often discovered with other minerals, such as albite, analcite, barite and dickite, which have at least two types of interbedded laminae. Petrogeochemistry reveals that this dolostone contains a large number of typomorphic elements of hydrothermal sedimentation, including Sb, Ba, Sr, Mn, and V. In addition, the LREE is in relatively high concentrations and possesses the typical REE distribution pattern with negative Eu anomaly. Oxygen isotope values (δ¹⁸O_PDB) range from 5.89‰ to 14.15‰ with an average of 9.69‰. The ratio of ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr is between 0.711648 and 0.719546, with an average of 0.714718. These data indicate that the depositional environment is a stable, blocked, anoxic low-lying hot brine pool in the bottom of deep lake controlled by basement faults. The hydrothermal fluid is the alkaline hot brine formed by the combination of the infiltration lake water and mantle-derived magmatic water, consisting of many ions, including Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺ and Fe²⁺. Under the driving flow power of magmatic heat, gravity and compaction, the hydrothermal fluid overcame the overburden pressure and hydrostatic pressure of the lake water body, and boiled to explosion, and then the explosion shattered the original laminated micritic ferruginous primary dolostone near the vent and then formed a new type of dolostone called shattered “hydroexplosion breccias”. In the low-lying, unperturbed hot brine pool, far from the vent, the laminated micritic ferruginous primary dolostone was quickly crystallized and chemicals precipitated from the hydrotherm. This study of special rocks contributes to research into the causes of the formation of lacustrine carbonate rocks and dolostone. In particular, it provides new examples and research insights for future studies of the lacustrine dolomite from the similar Mesozoic and Cenozoic basins in China.