Caught in the act: the 20 December 2001 gravity flow event in Monterey Canyon

A sediment gravity flow descended through the axis of Monterey Canyon on 20 December 2001 at 13:35 Pacific standard time. The timing of this event is documented by a current-meter package which recorded an 11.9-dbar pressure increase in less than 10 min and was found 550 m down-canyon from its deployment site, buried completely within a >70-cm-thick gravity flow deposit. This event is believed to have started in less than 290 m of water because an instrument at this location was also lost at the same time. A 178-cm core collected after the event from the axis of the canyon at 1,297-m water depth contained fresh, greenish, chlorophyll-rich organic material at 32-cm sub-bottom depth, suggesting the event extended to this water depth. The only trigger identified for this mass movement event appears to be moderate sea and surf conditions. Thus, gravity flow events of this magnitude do not require an exceptional triggering event.     

Molecular identification of bloom-forming species Phaeocystis globosa(Prymnesiophyta)and its dispersal based on rDNA ITS sequence analysis

Abstract-The colony-forming Phaeocystis species are causative agents of dense bloom occurrences incoastal waters worldwide. It is difficult to separate them because of the different morphologies associatedwith their colonial stages. In this study we applied molecular approaches to analyze the genetic variationof Phaeocystis globosa and Phaeocystis pouchetii from several geogrtaphic regions, and to assist in tracingthe dispersal of bloom-forming Phaeocystis species in coastal waters of China. The Sequences of the inter-nal transcribed sacers (ITS1 and ITS2) of rDNA and the 5.8S ribosomal RNA gene of Phaeocystisstrains were determined. Sequence comparison shows that P.globosa was the most divergent toP. pouchetii, exhibiting sequence divergence higher than 0.08. However, lower genetic divergences ex-isted between strains of P.globosa. The sequence comparison of the Phaeocystis rDNA ITS clearlyshows that the species isolated from the southeast coast of China is identified as P. globosa rather thanP. cf. po     

Using benthic macrofauna to assess environmental quality of four intertidal mudflats in Hong Kong and Shenzhen Coast

Abstract-Intertidal zone is a significant wetland between land and ocean. It plays an important rolein maintaining local ecological balance. Both Mai Po and Futian intertidal mudflats are located in Shen-zhen Bay and are important "refueling" point along the East Asian/Australian flyway of migratory birds.The environmental quality of Mai Po and Futian mudflats have aroused great concern due to rapid eco-nomic developments in Hong Kong and Shenzhen in recent decades. Microinfauna of Mai Po and Futianmudflats was investigated in December 2000 and the faunal data were used to assess their environmentalquality. Two other mudflats, namely Ma Wan Typhoon Shelter (a more disturbed area) and Luk Kengintertidal mudflat (a place with relatively less human disturbance), were also sampled for macroinfaunaand used as reference mudflats. Shannon-Weaver species diversity index (I_(sd)), biotic coefficient (C_b)and macrofaunal pollution index (I_(mp)) of the macrofauna community on four intertidal mudflats wereused to     

Second-Order Wave Diffraction Around 3-D Bodies by A Time-Domain Method

A time-domain method is applied to simulate nonlinear wave diffraction around a surface piercing 3-D arbitrary body. The method involves the application of Taylor series expansions and the use of perturbation procedure to establish the corresponding boundary value problems with respect to a time-independent fluid domain. A boundary element method based on B-spline expansion is used to calculate the wave field at each time step, and the free surface boundary condition is satisfied to the second order of wave steepness by a numerical integration in time. An artificial damping layer is adopted on the free surface for the removal of wave reflection from the outer boundary. As an illustration, the method is used to compute the second-order wave forces and run-up on a surface-piercing circular cylinder. The present method is found to be accurate, computationally efficient, and numerically stable.     

Locomotor activity rhythm in the Japanese eel Anguilla japonica elvers

Under artificial LD cycles(6,12,18 L),the elvers of Japanese eel,Anguilla japonica,showed a 24 h cycle of locomotor activity rhythm being most active at light transitions:the eels' activity rose to a primary peak after lights-off,followed by a quiescent period during which they buried into the shelters or lying motionlessly on sand for most of the time,and then reached a secondary peak before lights-on.Elvers could resynchronize their activity rhythm with a new photo cycle within 4 d.Moreover,their activity level at dark phase significantly increased as the light period was prolonged:higher activity levels during shorter dark period.However,the elvers did not display clearly the existence of a circadian rhythm under constant light or dark conditions.The timing of daily activity rhythm evidenced in the Japanese eels may occur through the action of the LD cycles with a weak participation of an endogenous circadian system.In all the LD cycles,over 99% of the activity occurred in the dark phase,indicating that the eels were always nocturnally active no matter what time of day it might be.Under 12 L conditions,the eels' activity level and the time outside sand were significantly elevated both at light and dark phases as temperature increased from 10~15 to 20~25 ℃.The activity rhythm pattern(i.e.,two peaks occurring around light transitions) did not apparently change among temperatures.However,in contrast with the primary activity peaks immediately after lights-off at 20 and 25 ℃,the timing of the primary peaks at 10 and 15 ℃ showed a latency of a few hours following lights-off,indicating the inhibiting effect of low temperature on the eels' activity.     

LAPP对中国对虾(Penaeus chinensis)生长、缺氧耐受力及免疫抵抗力的影响

实验研究维生素C多聚磷酸酯（LAPP）添加在对虾饲料中，对中国对虾的生长、缺氧耐受力及免疫抵抗力的影响；实验进一步证明了中国对虾饲料中LAPP的最适添加量为400mg／100g饲料;本文还提出饲料中的LAPP能够提高中国对虾的缺氧耐受力，在溶氧超过3．1mg／kg海水的情况下，效果显著，在降低到2．3mg／kg海水时，作用减弱；用副溶血弧菌（Vibroparahaemolyticus）注射入虾体内，12小时内记录发现，饲料中不含LAPP的一组中国对虾，死亡率高于其它组，并且，LAPP含量最高的一组，死亡率明显低，死亡时间也出现较晚，这证明LAPP能够提高中国对虾的免疫抵抗力；本实验用注射金黄色葡萄球菌后细胞的吞噬百分率作指标，研究对虾细胞的吞噬作用，发现饲料中不含LAPP的对虾的吞噬百分率较低，随着饲料中LAPP浓度的提高，对虾血细胞的吞噬百分率逐渐升高，说明中国对虾细胞的吞噬作用逐步增强。     

水样及生物体内微量锌、锰、硒的极谱催化波同时测定

本文提出了在酒石酸盐-乙二胺-高氯酸-亚硫酸钠-高碘酸钾-EDTA体系中同时测定微量锌、锰、硒的极谱催化波，波峰敏锐，波形稳定。Zn2 浓度在0．4～40μg／dm3，Mn2 浓度在1．6～80μg／dm3，Se（Ⅳ）浓度在0．02～3．0μg／dm3范围内浓度与峰电流呈线性关系。取天然水样平行12份测定，变异系数在10％以内。     

不同水温对文昌鱼性腺发育的影响

研究表明，不同水温对文昌鱼性腺发育分化和成熟有十分显著的影响。１４℃对文昌鱼性腺发育没有显著的作用，２０和２５℃十分有利于性腺发育和成熟，经４０ｄ培养，出现一些雌、雄文昌鱼产卵和释精以及加速性腺发育。本文还讨论了水温促进性腺发育可能的机制。     

用新显色剂3-甲氧基-甲亚胺H光度测定海水中的硼

采用新试剂３－甲氧基－甲亚胺Ｈ测定海水中的硼，加入ＥＤＴＡ和酒石酸掩蔽各种干扰离子，不须分离可直接测定，方法简便、快速、准确。     

Role of mangrove in mercury cycling and removal in the Jiulong Estuary

Baseline of mercury in mangrove swamp The mercury content in sediments in the Jiulong Estuary was determined in 1984 and 1985(Table 1). The highest content of mercury in sediments (300×10~(-9)) was found in Ditou, contrast-ing strongly with the low content of 36×10~(-9) in Port Dongzhai in the Hainan Island. Tab1e 1 showsthat the average content of mercury in sediments in the Jiulong Estuary is 140×10~(-9) and the averageof four areas is 72×10~(-9). This value means that these areas have not been heavily contaminated by