A Review on Marine N2 Fixation: Mechanism,Evolution of Methodologies,Rates, and Future Concerns

Ocean Science Journal - Investigations on marine N2 fixation have gained momentum since 1960s with eventual establishments of relevant methodologies to identify species involved and quantify the...     

Southwestward intrusion of korea strait bottom cold water observed in 2003 and 2004

Hydrographic surveys were carried out four times in the western channel of the Korea Strait in March and August 2003 and in June and November 2004. The bottom cold water, which was lower than 10°C, appeared in the channel trough except in March 2003. It flowed southwestward along the shelf of Korean coasts in August 2003 and in November 2004. The width and the maximum speed of the intrusion current were about 20 km and approximately 25 cm s^-1, respectively, off Ulsan, Korea. The volume transport of the bottom cold water was estimated 0.019 Sv (Sv≡10⁶ m³ s^-1) in August 2003 and 0.026 Sv in November 2004.     

Seasonal variability of community structure and breeding activity in marine phytal harpacticoid copepods on Ulva pertusa from Pohang,east coast of Korea

Seasonal changes in community structure and reproductive status of phytal harpacticoid copepods in the shallow sublittoral bottom at two sites (Masan-ri and Guryongpo) in Pohang (Korea) are described monthly over a period of 1 year (October 1996 to September 1997). A total of 36 harpacticoid species was identified and the numerically dominant copepods were made up of the families Porcellidiidae and Tisbidae. Although the number of species did not show a seasonal trend, total harpacticoid density revealed a favorable distribution for the warmer season (spring and summer) at both sites. Multiple linear regression analyses showed that univariate indices such as density, evenness and diversity are closely associated with certain environmental parameters. For example, the dominant species fluctuated seasonally in abundance and their maximum densities were found to be temperature- (+ with Porcellidium ofunatense) and nutrient-dependent (+ with Scutellidium longicauda acheloides, + with Zaus unisetosus, and ? with P. wandoensis). In addition, the dominant species appeared to breed year round and their reproductive indices are significantly correlated with some environmental parameters such as temperature (?), pH (+), and phosphate (+). Three species (S. l. acheloides, P. wandoensis, and P. ofunatense) showed maximum density two or three months after their reproductive activity reached a maximum. Overall, the seasonal changes in a phytal harpacticoid community could be explained by combinations of environmental parameters supporting the complexity and biodiversity for this specific group of species in coastal ecosystems.     

Investigation into the daily precipitation variability in the Yangtze River Delta,China

In this article, by using the daily precipitation data measured at 58 meteorological stations, spatial and temporal variability of daily precipitation including zero rainfall values (called “precipitation”) and without zero rainfall values (called “rain”) and four precipitation extrema (P₀, P₂₀, P₅₀, and P₁₀₀ representing the daily precipitation with the magnitude smaller than 0.1 mm, bigger than 20 mm, 50 mm, and 100 mm per day, respectively) in the Yangtze River Delta (YRD) during 1958–2007 were analyzed, and the effects of urbanization were further investigated. Results indicate that (i) differing from the downward trends in 1958–1985, daily precipitation and rain in 1986–2007 show slowly downward trends in the mid YRD but show upward trends in the northern and southern YRD. (ii) Spatial and temporal variability of the rain is more complex than daily precipitation. Both of them become smaller but show more obvious fluctuations in 1986–2007. (iii) Urbanizations cause not only the urban rainfall island problem but also more obvious fluctuations of rain intensity in the mid YRD, reflecting more uncertainty of daily precipitation variability. (iv) Urbanizations have little effects on the variability of P₀ and P₁₀₀ but cause notable increases of P₂₀ and P₅₀. (v) The spatial variability of daily precipitation and precipitation extrema in 1958–1985 clearly shows a breakpoint at 30°20′N latitude, but the breakpoint disappears afterward because of the effects of urbanization. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The role of eddies in solute transport and recovery in rock fractures: Implication for groundwater remediation

A better understanding of solute transport and retention mechanism in rock fractures has been challenging due to difficulty in their direct observations in microscale rough‐walled fractures. Six representative troughs in a rough‐walled fracture were selected for microscale observations of eddy formation with increasing flow velocity and its effect on spatiotemporal changes of solute concentration. This experimental study was enabled by a microscale visualization technique of micro particle image velocimetry. With increasing flow velocity (Re ≤ 2.86), no eddies were generated, and solutes along the main streamlines transported rapidly, whereas those near the wall moved slowly. A larger amount of solutes remained trapped at all troughs at Re = 2.86 than Re < 1. For Re = 8.57, weak eddies started to be developed at the troughs on the lee side, which little contributed to overall solute flushing in the fracture. Accordingly, a large of amount of water was needed for solute flushing. The flow condition of 1 < Re < 10, before a full development of eddies, was least favourable in terms of time and amount of remediation fluid required to reach a target concentration. After large eddies were fully developed at troughs on the lee side for Re = 17.13, solutes were substantially reduced by eddies with less amount of water. Fully developed eddies were found to enhance solute transport and recovery, as opposed to a general consensus that eddies trap and delay solutes. Direct inflow into troughs on the stoss side also made a great contribution to solute flushing out of the troughs. This study indicates that fully developed eddies or strong inflows at troughs are highly possible to form for Re > 10 and this flow range could be favourable for efficient remediation.     

Discrete wavelet‐based trend identification in hydrologic time series

Trend identification is a substantial issue in hydrologic series analysis, but it is also a difficult task in practice due to the confusing concept of trend and disadvantages of methods. In this article, an improved definition of trend was given as follows: ‘a trend is the deterministic component in the analysed data and corresponds to the biggest temporal scale on the condition of giving the concerned temporal scale’. It emphasizes the intrinsic and deterministic properties of trend, can clearly distinguish trend from periodicities and points out the prerequisite of the concerned temporal scale only by giving which the trend has its specific meaning. Correspondingly, the discrete wavelet‐based method for trend identification was improved. Differing from those methods used presently, the improved method is to identify trend by comparing the energy difference between hydrologic data and noise, and it can simultaneously separate periodicities and noise. Furthermore, the improved method can quantitatively estimate the statistical significance of the identified trend by using proper confidence interval. Analyses of both synthetic and observed series indicated the identical power of the improved method as the Mann–Kendall test in assessing the statistical significance of the trend in hydrologic data, and by using the former, the identified trend can adaptively reflect the nonlinear and nonstationary variability of hydrologic data. Besides, the results also showed the influences of three key factors (wavelet choice, decomposition level choice and noise content) on discrete wavelet‐based trend identification; hence, they should be carefully considered in practice. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

迁安紫苏花岗岩的~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar年龄谱

对采自河北省迁安县水厂地区的紫苏花岗岩中的黑云母和紫苏辉石进行了~(40)Ar/~(39)Ar年龄测定,分别给出了18.7亿年和19.6亿年的~(40)Ar保存年龄。这两种矿物的年龄谱的视年龄的梯度变化表明,紫苏花岗岩形成后是缓慢冷却的。3.9亿年左右的一次热事件,造成了放射成因~(40)Ar的丢失。根据热历史和封闭温度的研究,从27亿年(侵入到该区紫花岗岩中的花岗闪长岩的锆石U-Pb年龄)到19.6亿年,紫苏花岗岩岩体的抬升速率为6.5m/Ma,但从19.6亿年到18.7亿年,其抬升速率高达111m/Ma,具有明显的构造抬升作用。     

Carbon dioxide,water vapor and sensible heat fluxes over a tallgrass prairie

Fluxes of CO₂, water vapor and sensible heat were measured in a grassland ecosystem near Manhattan, Kansas, employing the eddy correlation technique. The vegetation at this site is dominated by big bluestem (Andropogon gerardii), switchgrass (Panicum virgatum), and indiangrass (Sorghastrum nutans). Diurnal patterns of the energy budget components and CO₂ fluxes are evaluated on a few selected days. Influence of high atmospheric evaporative demand and low availability of soil water are examined on (a) energy partitioning, and (b) the magnitudes and patterns of atmospheric carbon dioxide exchange.Published as Paper No. 8470, Journal Series, Nebraska Agricultural Research Division.     

小尺度地形阻塞作用的数值试验

本文采用数值试验方法,讨论了一个高度只有200m的小尺度地形的阻塞作用,表明当大气低层的平均风速和温度层结使得Froude数小于1时,就有可能在地形的上风向形成阻塞。本文共试验了一般稳定层结、深厚逆温和浅薄逆温几种情况,讨论了数值结果和Froude数判别式之间的差异和原因,并计算了阻塞发生时的浓度分布。     

大别山前寒武纪变质地体基本组成

本文以新城－圻春断裂为界将大别山前寒武纪变质地体划分为华北陆块南缘和场子陆块北缘两个次级变质地体，两个次级地体不仅在地球物理，构造变形方面明显不同，而且在物质成分上有显著差异，它们有各自独立的变质地层系统，遭受了不同类型的变质作用，有完全不同的岩浆活动图象，上述差异均可指示华北，扬子两古陆碰掸对接时扬子陆块北缘向北俯冲至华北陆块南缘之下，这可能包括两次合作用，从元古代开始至中生代最终结束的长期复杂