Monitoring the sea change: preliminary assessment of the conservation value of nearshore reefs, and existing impacts, in a high-growth, coastal region of subtropical eastern Australia

In northern NSW, Australia, coastal populations are forecast to increase dramatically over the next 25 years (the "sea change"). However, management of the effects of development on marine communities is hampered by the lack of data on key habitats. Consequently, we developed a protocol to assess the biodiversity and current human impacts on nearshore reefs, habitats that will be readily affected by coastal development. We assessed four reefs adjacent to each of three population centres targeting fish, mollusc and sessile benthic communities, and debris loads. Community structure was highly variable over all spatial scales indicating that reefs should not be considered equivalent within the planning framework. While, debris loads were relatively low on most reefs, those with highest conservation value also had the highest debris loads suggesting potential conflict between human use and long-term sustainability of reefal communities. Without intervention, this situation will be exacerbated in the future.     

Comparison of approaches for predicting solute transport: sandbox experiments

The main purpose of this paper was to compare three approaches for predicting solute transport. The approaches include: (1) an effective parameter/macrodispersion approach (Gelhar and Axness 1983); (2) a heterogeneous approach using ordinary kriging based on core samples; and (3) a heterogeneous approach based on hydraulic tomography. We conducted our comparison in a heterogeneous sandbox aquifer. The aquifer was first characterized by taking 48 core samples to obtain local-scale hydraulic conductivity (K). The spatial statistics of these K values were then used to calculate the effective parameters. These K values and their statistics were also used for kriging to obtain a heterogeneous K field. In parallel, we performed a hydraulic tomography survey using hydraulic tests conducted in a dipole fashion with the drawdown data analyzed using the sequential successive linear estimator code (Yeh and Liu 2000) to obtain a K distribution (or K tomogram). The effective parameters and the heterogeneous K fields from kriging and hydraulic tomography were used in forward simulations of a dipole conservative tracer test. The simulated and observed breakthrough curves and their temporal moments were compared. Results show an improvement in predictions of drawdown behavior and tracer transport when the K tomogram from hydraulic tomography was used. This suggests that the high-resolution prediction of solute transport is possible without collecting a large number of small-scale samples to estimate flow and transport properties that are costly to obtain at the field scale.     

中上扬子地区五峰组沉积环境的再认识

通过对中上扬子地区五峰期海平面变化、沉积特征、生态特征和沉积速率等的分析，认为五峰组页岩段形成于海平面上升时期，属深海沉积。首次提出观音桥段形成于深海环境中，并属深海等深流沉积。并识别出三种等深岩相类型，即砂质等深岩相、泥质等深岩相和生物局等深岩相，它们均呈巨型条带状分布于中上扬子地区。     

Topographic monitoring of a middle estuary mudflat, Humber estuary, UK--anthropogenic impacts and natural variation

Annual topographic surveys were carried out at the Saltend mudflat (Humber estuary, UK) between 1998 and 2006. These surveys formed part of an ongoing monitoring programme to examine the potential effects on the mudflat topography of the construction and operation of a waste water treatment works (WwTW) development by Yorkshire Water. Of particular concern was the potential disruption to the sedimentological regime within the special protection area (SPA) and candidate special area of conservation (cSAC) which could affect the invertebrate communities and ornithological functioning of the site. In addition to the development of the WwTW located to the extreme north-west of the site, a port extension removing 10ha of the Saltend intertidal mudflat (outside the SPA but immediately south east of the WwTW) also occurred between 1999 and 2006. Minimal change was noted across the site following the construction and operation of the WwTW between 1998 and 2000. However, the construction of the bund in closer proximity to the SPA and cSAC masked any potential impact the WwTW could have had across the site after 2000. Profiles and contour mapping indicate that significant mudflat accretion occurred in the immediate area of the bund, with a general increase recorded across the western section of the site since 2000. In contrast the alternations to channel planform and subsequent rapid accretion of the mudflat to the east of the jetty, being a significant distance from the developments, are attributed to natural cyclical changes.     

Field study of hydrogeologic characterization methods in a heterogeneous aquifer

Hydraulic conductivity (K) and specific storage (S(s)) are required parameters when designing transient groundwater flow models. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of commonly used hydrogeologic characterization approaches to accurately delineate the distribution of hydraulic properties in a highly heterogeneous glaciofluvial deposit. The metric used to compare the various approaches was the prediction of drawdown responses from three separate pumping tests. The study was conducted at a field site, where a 15 m × 15 m area was instrumented with four 18-m deep Continuous Multichannel Tubing (CMT) wells. Each CMT well contained seven 17 cm × 1.9 cm monitoring ports equally spaced every 2 m down each CMT system. An 18-m deep pumping well with eight separate 1-m long screens spaced every 2 m was also placed in the center of the square pattern. In each of these boreholes, cores were collected and characterized using the Unified Soil Classification System, grain size analysis, and permeameter tests. To date, 471 K estimates have been obtained through permeameter analyses and 270 K estimates from empirical relationships. Geostatistical analysis of the small-scale K data yielded strongly heterogeneous K fields in three-dimensions. Additional K estimates were obtained through slug tests in 28 ports of the four CMT wells. Several pumping tests were conducted using the multiscreen and CMT wells to obtain larger scale estimates of both K and S(s). The various K and S(s) estimates were then quantitatively evaluated by simulating transient drawdown data from three pumping tests using a 3D forward numerical model constructed using HydroGeoSphere (Therrien et al. 2005). Results showed that, while drawdown predictions generally improved as more complexity was introduced into the model, the ability to make accurate drawdown predictions at all CMT ports was inconsistent.     

中扬子地区下寒武统清虚洞组斜坡带沉积特征及其含油气性

中杨子地区下寒武统清虚洞组斜坡带上发育三种类型的深水沉积：①原地垂直降落沉积；②重力沉积：③等深流沉积，该斜坡带可分为碳酸盐缓坡（湘西黔东）和碳酸盐斜坡（鄂东南）两部分。在成岩过程中有机碳经历了于酪根裂解生烃阶段，存在生油岩层。     

峰值速度和加速度对环境剪应力的依赖性

从导出的地震定标律和地震破裂过程的断裂力学模式出发,得到了震源平均位移、速度和加速度谱的表达式,进而又推导出震源的峰值位移d_m,速度v_m和加速度a_m的表达式:d_m=k_dM_0~2/~3τ_0~(2/3),v=k_vM_0~(1/3)τ_0~(4/3),a_m=k_aτ_0~2式中M_0是地震矩,τ_0是环境剪应力值,k_d,k_v,k_a为适当的常数.我们选用了66个地震的观测资料,这些地震的矩震级范围包括了从1级左右的极微震,3-5级的小震,直到6-7级的大震;地震矩从10~9-10~(20)Nm,跨越了10个数量级,并用这些地震检验了上述公式. 令所有地震的平均应力为5MPa,定出常数k_d,k_v,k_a,进而由速度和加速度观测资料求得66个地震的环境剪应力τ_0值,这些数值相当稳定.多数极微震的τ_0值在2-4MPa之间;小震的τ_0值多数在4-8MPa左右;大震的τ_0值为10MPa左右。τ_0值对震源深度和断层类型有明显的依赖性.一般深度很浅的小震和极微震,τ_0值很低;正断层地震的τ_0值相对较低;逆断层地震的τ_0值较高;走滑断层地震的τ_0值则居中.     

我国深水异地沉积研究三十年

深水异地沉积研究在我国已有30年历程,它经历了70年代浊流沉积研究探索阶段、80年代重力流沉积研究蓬勃发展阶段和90年代深水牵引流沉积研究阶段。70年代浊流沉积研究刚刚起步,以资料积累和深化认识为主,成果欠丰;深水牵引流沉积研究则仅有少量探索。80年代深水重力流沉积研究已从单一类型延伸到多种类型,从陆源碎屑重力流沉积扩展到碳酸盐和火山碎屑重力流沉积,从海洋发展到湖泊,从一般性描述转入沉积模式、控制因素及含矿性的探讨,出现了突飞猛进、硕果累累的可喜局面;而深水牵引流沉积研究也有了实质性进展。90年代重力流沉积研究继续保持稳步发展态势,而深水牵引流沉积研究有了更大的进展,取得了令世人注目的重要成果。展望未来,深水异地沉积研究任重而道远,相信我国沉积学学者在这一领域研究必将迎来前所未有的盛世。