A new Late Holocene sea-level record from the Mississippi Delta: evidence for a climate/sea level connection?

A detailed relative sea-level (RSL) record was constructed for the time interval 600–1600 AD, using basal peat to track sea level and containing 16 sea-level index points that capture ～60 cm of RSL rise. The study area is in the Mississippi Delta where the spring tidal range is ～0.47 m, the impact of ocean currents on sea-surface topography is limited, and crustal motions are well constrained. Age control was obtained by AMS ¹⁴C dating and most ages represent weighted means of two subsamples. Sample elevations were determined by combining differential GPS measurements with optical surveying. All index points were plotted as error boxes using 2σ confidence intervals for the ages, plus all vertical errors involved in sampling and surveying, as well as the indicative range of the samples. A striking clustering of sea-level index points between ～1000 and ～1200 AD suggests a possible acceleration in the rate of RSL rise. Removal of the long-term trend (0.60 mm yr^?1) allows for the possibility of a sea-level oscillation with a maximum amplitude of ～55 cm. However, given the size of the error boxes the possibility that oscillations did not occur cannot be entirely ruled out. Comparison of the new RSL record with various proxy climate records suggests that sea level in this area may have responded to hemispheric temperature changes, including the Medieval Warm Period and the Little Ice Age. However, given the error margins associated with this reconstruction, it is stressed that this causal mechanism is tentative and requires corroboration by high-resolution sea-level reconstructions elsewhere.     

Low calcification rates and calcium carbonate production in Porites panamensis at its northernmost geographic distribution

Porites panamensis is a hermatypic coral present in the eastern Pacific Ocean. Skeletal growth parameters have been reported, but studies of the relationship between annual calcification rates and environmental controls are scarce. In this study, we investigated three aspects of the annual calcification rates of P. panamensis: growth parameters among three P. panamensis populations; the sea surface temperature as a calcification rate control spanning a latitudinal gradient; and calcium carbonate production among three sites. Growth parameters varied among the sites due to the colony growth form. Massive colonies in the north showed a higher calcification rate than encrusting colonies in the south (mean: 1.22–0.49 g CaCO₃ · cm^?2 · yr^?1), where variations in calcification rates were related to growth rate (0.91–0.38 cm · yr^?1) rather than to skeletal density differences (overall mean ± SD, 1.31 ± 0.04 g CaCO₃ · cm^?3). Our results showed a positive linear relationship between annual calcification rates and sea surface temperatures within these P. panamensis populations. Differences were related to distinct oceanographic environments (within and at the entrance of the Gulf of California) with different sea surface temperature regimes and other chemical properties. Different populations calcified under different environmental conditions. Calcium carbonate production was dependent upon the calcification rate and coral cover and so carbonate production was higher in the north (coral cover 12%) than in the south (coral cover 3.5). Thus, the studied sites showed low calcium carbonate production (0.25–0.43 kg CaCO₃ · m^?2 · yr^?1). Our results showed reduced calcification rates, regional temperature regime control over calcification rates, different growth forms, low coral cover and low calcium carbonate production rates in P. panamensis.     

红树林海岸的沉积物输运和碳沉降特征

Mangroves play an important role in sequestering carbon and trapping sediments. However, the effectiveness of such functions is unclear due to the restriction of knowledge on the sedimentation process across the vegetation boundaries. To detect the effects of mangrove forests on sediment transportation and organic carbon sequestration, the granulometric and organic carbon characteristics of mangrove sediments were investigated from three vegetation zones of four typical mangrove habitats on the Leizhou Peninsula coast. Based on our results, sediment transport was often "environmentally sensitive" to the vegetation friction. A transition of the sediment transport mode from the mudflat zone to the interior/fringe zone was often detected from the cumulative frequency curve. The vegetation cover also assists the trapping of material, resulting in a significantly higher concentration of organic carbon in the interior surface sediments. However, the graphic parameters of core sediments reflected a highly temporal variability due to the sedimentation process at different locations. The sediment texture ranges widely from sand to mud, although the sedimentary environments are restricted within the same energy level along the fluvial-marine transition zone. Based on the PCA results, the large variation was mainly attributed to either the mean grain size features or the organic carbon features. A high correlation between the depth and δ13C value also indicated an increasing storage of mangrove-derived organic carbon with time.     

Assessing the benthic quality status of the Bohai Bay (China) with proposed modifications of M-AMBI

Multivariate AZTI's Marine Biotic Index (M-AMBI) was designed to indicate the ecological status of European coastal areas. Based upon samples collected from 2009 to 2012 in the Bohai Bay, we have tested the response of variations of M-AMBI, using biomass (M-BAMBI) in the calculations, with different transformations of the raw data. The results showed that the ecological quality of most areas in the study indicated by M-AMBI was from moderate to bad status with the worse status in the coastal areas, especially around the estuaries, harbors and outfalls, and better status in the offshore areas except the area close to oil platforms or disposal sites. Despite large variations in nature of the input data, all variations of M-AMBI gave similar spatial and temporal distribution patterns of the ecological status within the bay, and showed high correlation between them. The agreement of new ecological status obtained from all M-AMBI variations, which were calculated according to linear regression, was almost perfect. The benthic quality, assessed using different input data, could be related to human pressures in the bay, such as water discharges, land reclamation, dredged sediment and drilling cuts disposal sites. It seems that M-BAMBI were more effective than M-NABMI (M-AMBI calculated using abundance data) in indicating human pressures of the Bay. Finally, indices calculated with more severe transformations, such as presence/absence data, could not indicate the higher density of human pressures in the coastal areas of the north part of our study area, but those calculated using mild transformation (i.e., square root) did.     

我国海洋声学探测技术竞争力分析

海洋声学探测技术用于海洋物理及海洋特定目标特性探测,是人类认识海洋、开发和利用海洋丰富资源必不可少的海洋高技术。文中全面介绍了海洋声学探测技术的技术结构以及致力于此技术研究的国内外主要研究机构,着重对比分析了国内外海洋声学探测技术的发展现状与趋势,并总结出我国该领域现存在的问题。结果表明我国海洋声学探测技术水平与国外相差10 a左右,未来需靠长期稳定支持、按需开展研究、加大基础工业投资以及提高材料与工艺水平等措施推进我国海洋声学技术的良性发展。     

Ultimate Load Capacity of Offshore Pipeline with Arbitrary Shape Corrosion Defects

A set of generalized solutions are proposed for estimating ultimate load capacity of pipeline with arbitrary corrosion shapes subjected to combined internal pressure, axial force and bending moment. Isotropic and anisotropic material characteristics in longitudinal and circumferential direction of pipeline are also considered in the proposed equations. Simplified numerical method is used to solve the generalized expressions. The comparisons of numerical results based generalized solutions and full-scale experimental results are carried out. The predicted results agree reasonably well with the experiment results. Meanwhile, the effects of corrosion shapes and locations on the ultimate load capacity are studied.     

云南大山包自然保护区黑颈鹤觅食区适宜性评价研究

云南大山包自然保护区是黑颈鹤越冬的重要栖息地,以保护区GF-2影像及DEM为数据源,选取地表覆被、人为干扰、地形因子等作为评价指标,采用层次分析法确定评价指标权重.使用线性加权模型,在遥感、地理信息技术的支持下开展大山包自然保护区黑颈鹤觅食区适宜性评价研究,结果显示:1)保护区分布有黑颈鹤适宜觅食区10989.53 hm2,其中,最宜觅食区面积3429.41 hm2,占保护区总面积的17.82％;2)空间分布上,最宜觅食区集中分布在保护区的中部、中北部及西南边缘部分区域,次宜觅食区在保护区均匀分布;3)最宜觅食区大面积连片分布少,呈现斑块数量多、面积小、几何形态破碎度较大的特征.基于此,在后续保护区规划、建设中,应进一步加强对黑颈鹤觅食区的监管、减少人为干扰,并采取有效措施,不断恢复和提升黑颈鹤觅食区的生态环境条件,促成黑颈鹤觅食区面积的连片扩增和质量改善,为保护区黑颈鹤种群恢复、湿地生态系统的保护等提供保障.     

大棚蔬菜最低气温预报及冻害防御技术

在大棚蔬菜低温冻害防御中,通过搭建拱棚加盖不同层塑料内膜的大棚温度调控模式应用广泛。通过对不同层塑料内膜覆盖的大棚小气候环境温度观测,分析了棚内外日最低气温的相关关系,建立了棚内小气候环境日最低气温的一元线性回归预测模型,应用气象台天气预报中的日最低气温预报开展了大棚小气候环境的日最低气温预报,根据预报结果和蔬菜冻害指标,确定大棚增温防冻需要加盖塑料内膜的层数,提出大棚蔬菜内膜覆盖方式的冻害防御对策,为设施农业提供安全生产保障依据。     

北京一次积层混合云系结构和水分收支的数值模拟分析

本文利用中国气象科学研究院(CAMS)中尺度云分辨模式对2007年10月的一次积层混合云降水过程进行了数值模拟。利用模拟结果结合实测资料, 研究了积层混合云系的宏微观结构和降水特征, 并分析了云系的水分收支及降水效率。结果表明:积层混合云是导致此次北京降水的主要云型;积层混合云降水分布不均匀, 云系中微物理量的水平和垂直分布都不均匀, 具有混合相云的云物理结构。冷云降水过程占主导地位, 雪的融化对雨水的形成贡献最大。北京区域降水过程的主要水汽源地为黄海海面及蒙古国, 两支气流在陕西北部汇合后的西南气流将水汽输送到华北地区, 北京区域以外, 水汽和水凝物主要从西边界和南边界输送到域内。北京区域降水主要时段内, 水物质通量在水平方向上为净流入。对北京区域水汽、水凝物和总水物质的水分收支各项的估算表明, 水物质基本达到平衡。北京区域从2007年10月5日20时至6日14时, 总水成物降水效率、凝结率、凝华率及总水凝物降水效率分别为5.6%、4.77%、4.19%、44.9%。