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.     

Navy sonar and cetaceans: just how much does the gun need to smoke before we act?

Cetacean mass stranding events associated with naval mid-frequency sonar use have raised considerable conservation concerns. These strandings have mostly involved beaked whales, with common pathologies, including "bubble lesions" similar to decompression sickness symptoms and acoustic traumas. However, other cetacean species have also stranded coincident with naval exercises. Possible mechanisms for the strandings include a behavioral response that causes deep divers to alter their diving behavior, which then results in decompression sickness-like impacts. Current mitigation measures during military exercises are focused on preventing auditory damage (hearing loss), but there are significant flaws with this approach. Behavioral responses, which occur at lower sound levels than those that cause hearing loss, may be more critical. Thus, mitigation measures should be revised. A growing number of international bodies recognize this issue and have urged increasing scrutiny of sound-producing activities, but many national jurisdictions have resisted calls for increased protection.     

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。     

On North Pacific circulation and associated marine debris concentration

Marine debris in the oceanic realm is an ecological concern, and many forms of marine debris negatively affect marine life. Previous observations and modeling results suggest that marine debris occurs in greater concentrations within specific regions in the North Pacific Ocean, such as the Subtropical Convergence Zone and eastern and western "Garbage Patches". Here we review the major circulation patterns and oceanographic convergence zones in the North Pacific, and discuss logical mechanisms for regional marine debris concentration, transport, and retention. We also present examples of meso- and large-scale spatial variability in the North Pacific, and discuss their relationship to marine debris concentration. These include mesoscale features such as eddy fields in the Subtropical Frontal Zone and the Kuroshio Extension Recirculation Gyre, and interannual to decadal climate events such as El Ni?o and the Pacific Decadal Oscillation/North Pacific Gyre Oscillation.     

Response of estuarine meio- and macrofauna to in situ bioremediation of oil-contaminated sediment

Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of bioremediation for enhancing oil removal but the ecological effect on shoreline biota is unclear. Therefore, a field experiment was designed at an intertidal sandflat in SW England to assess the effects of nutrient addition to oiled sediments on meio- and macrofauna for a period of up to 45 weeks. Natural assemblages were exposed to different types of experimental treatments (no oil, oil alone, oil treated with slow-release fertiliser or liquid fertiliser). Bioremediation stimulated the microbial population and increased oil biodegradation. This, however, did not result in faster recolonisation rates of fertilised versus non-fertilised oiled sediments. Mild effects of oil and bioremediation treatments on benthic fauna were observed, including short-term shifts in dominance patterns. Decreased abundance of dominant species in the oiled compared to unoiled sediments resulted in significantly higher evenness of benthic assemblages within the first 11 weeks of the experiment.     

Toxicity of 1,4-dichlorobenzene in sediments to juvenile polychaete worms

Investigation of sediment contamination associated with a marine sewage outfall in Victoria (BC, Canada) found elevated concentrations of 1,4-dichlorobenzene (1,4-DCB). Juvenile polychaete worm (Neanthes) growth was significantly reduced at or near the outfall, roughly corresponding to elevated 1,4-DCB concentrations. There are few data on 1,4-DCB toxicity to marine organisms and no published literature on its toxicity to benthic marine organisms. To determine whether reduced polychaete growth (measured as dry weight) was due to 1,4-DCB exposure, a laboratory investigation was conducted. Uncontaminated marine sediment was spiked with 1,4-DCB and juvenile Neanthes were exposed in 20-d sublethal toxicity tests. There were no adverse effects on survival at any test concentration; mean survival was 80–100%. Statistically significant decreases in average dry weight only occurred at the highest 1,4-DCB concentration (19,900 μg/kg, dry weight); this represented a 1,4-DCB concentration more than 10 times higher than previously measured at the outfall (1710 μg/kg, dry weight). There were no adverse effects on survival or dry weight at the range of concentrations previously measured in sediments from the vicinity of the outfall.     

Transmissivity variations in mudstones

Many people in sub-Saharan Africa have to rely on meager water resources within mudstones for their only water supply. Although mudstones have been extensively researched for their low permeability behavior, little research has been undertaken to examine their ability to provide sustainable water supplies. To investigate the factors controlling the occurrence of usable ground water in mudstone environments, an area of Cretaceous mudstones in southeastern Nigeria was studied over a 3 yr period. Transmissivity (T) variations in a range of mudstone environments were studied. The investigations demonstrate that within the top 40 m of mudstones, transmissivity can be sufficient to develop village water supplies (T > 1 m2/d). Transmissivity is controlled by two factors: low-grade metamorphism and the presence of other, subordinate, lithologies within the mudstones. Largely unaltered mudstones (early diagenetic zone), comprising mainly smectite clays, are mostly unfractured and have a low T of < 0.1 m2/d. Mudstones that have undergone limited metamorphism (late diagenetic zone) comprise mixed layered illite/smectite clays, and ground water is found in widely spaced fracture zones (T > 1 m2/d in large fracture zones; T < 0.1 m2/d away from fracture zones). Mudstones that have been further altered and approach the anchizone comprise illite clays, are pervasively fractured, and have the highest transmissivity values (T > 4 m2/d). Dolerite intrusions in unaltered, smectitic mudstones are highly fractured with transmissivity in the range of 1 < T < 60 m2/d. Thin limestone and sandstone layers can also enhance transmissivity sufficiently to provide community water supplies.     

Aliphatic and aromatic hydrocarbons in marine biota and coastal sediments from the Gulf and the Gulf of Oman

The composition and spatial distribution of aliphatic and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were investigated in biota and coastal sediments from four countries surrounding the Gulf (Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates and Oman). The levels of total petroleum hydrocarbons (TPH), aliphatic unresolved mixture and PAHs in sediments and biota were relatively low compared to world-wide locations reported to be chronically contaminated by oil. Only in the case of the sediments collected near the BAPCO oil refinery in Bahrain, having concentrations of 779 μg g⁻¹ total petroleum hydrocarbon equivalents and 6.6 μg g⁻¹ ∑PAHs, can they be categorized as chronically contaminated. Some evidence of oil contamination was also apparent in sediments and bivalves around Akkah Head and Abu Dhabi in the UAE, and near Mirbat in Oman. Contaminant patterns in sediments and biota indicated that the PAHs were mainly from fossil sources, with the exception of the high PAH concentrations in sediments near the BAPCO refinery that contained substantial concentrations of carcinogenic PAH combustion products.