Analysis of the Chesapeake Bay Hypoxia Regime Shift: Insights from Two Simple Mechanistic Models

Recent studies of Chesapeake Bay hypoxia suggest higher susceptibility to hypoxia in years after the 1980s. We used two simple mechanistic models and Bayesian estimation of their parameters and prediction uncertainty to explore the nature of this regime shift. Model estimates show increasing nutrient conversion efficiency since the 1980s, with lower DO concentrations and large hypoxic volumes as a result. In earlier work, we suggested a 35% reduction from the average 1980–1990 total nitrogen load would restore the Bay to hypoxic volumes of the 1950s–1970s. With Bayesian inference, our model indicates that, if the physical and biogeochemical processes prior to the 1980s resume, the 35% reduction would result in hypoxic volume averaging 2.7 km³ in a typical year, below the average hypoxic volume of 1950s–1970s. However, if the post-1980 processes persist the 35% reduction would result in much higher hypoxic volume averaging 6.0 km³. Load reductions recommended in the 2003 agreement will likely meet dissolved oxygen attainment goals if the Bay functions as it did prior to the 1980s; however, it may not reach those goals if current processes prevail.     

安徽南部庐枞盆地罗河-泥河铁矿田含矿辉石粗安玢岩锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb定年及其地质意义

安徽庐枞火山岩盆地中的罗河-泥河铁矿田产有与燕山期岩浆活动有关的大型铁矿床,是长江中下游玢岩型铁矿的一个重要组成部分。对矿田的含矿岩体进行了薄片鉴定和化学分析,结果表明该类岩浆岩为超浅成的中偏基性辉石粗安玢岩。运用锆石LA-ICP-MS U-Pb定年方法进行年龄测定,测得的206Pb/238U平均年龄分别为133.3Ma±0.6Ma(LJ23)、133.2Ma±1.1Ma(LJ37)、132.8Ma±2.6Ma(NHK1-2),3个年龄在误差范围内基本一致,表明矿田内辉石粗安玢岩的形成年龄约为133Ma。这一时间正好位于区内龙门院-砖桥和双庙-浮山两大火山喷发旋回的间歇期,为砖桥火山喷发旋回后期潜火山作用的产物。结合基础地质、矿床地质分析和含矿岩体、磁铁矿单矿物化学分析结果,推测矿田的成矿时间为133~131Ma。表明成岩成矿作用与发生于中国东部140Ma左右的构造体制大转折和130Ma左右的大规模岩石圈拆沉两大地质事件相吻合。     

西藏西部措勤盆地措勤-洞错重、磁剖面的地质结构

为研究西藏措勤—洞错地区的地质结构,对2006年采集的1:50000重、磁剖面资料进行了分析、处理、曲线拟合计算与解释。结果表明,南端冈底斯基底走滑断隆带古生界褶皱基底很浅,缺失中生界;中部措勤盆地则埋深较大,最深可达9km,并表现为北深南浅的格局,主要充填了巨厚的中生界;北部班公湖-怒江缝合带的基底深度小于3km;剖面上羌塘地体的基底深度约3.5km。剖面中部措勤盆地北部坳陷与班公湖-怒江缝合带结晶基底磁性弱,北部和南部结晶基底磁性强。推断了12条断裂,其中F7断裂为措勤盆地北界,F1断裂为盆地南界。推断了6个花岗岩类岩体、2个蛇绿岩体及一套规模较大的火山岩,并描述了其地下赋存的特征。     

小波变换在饶阳凹陷层序地层格架建立中的应用

小波变换提供了一种研究层序地层格架的新方法,它将测井信号从一维深度域转换到二维深度—尺度域,从多尺度识别不同级次的地层旋回界面。根据小波变换的原理,确定了测井数据小波变换在层序地层划分中的地质意义,建立了四种小波变换中的地层旋回模型。在饶阳凹陷的实际应用中,选取自然伽马曲线进行小波变换,应用时频色谱图分析和快速傅里叶变换多种方法选取尺度因子。通过对时频色谱图和不同尺度下小波系数曲线的综合分析,对饶阳凹陷古近系G104井层序地层进行了划分,并以2 198.625m位置为突变界面,划分出两个较大尺度旋回,以2142.375m、2 163.875m、2 198.625m、2 238.625m位置为界面,划分出5个较小尺度旋回。实际结果应用表明,小波多尺度变换划分层序地层的结果和传统方法划分基本一致。     

基于遥感技术的龙门山前山带烃类微渗漏信息提取

通过对龙门山前山带含油区与非含油区的岩石、土壤、植被等进行测试,认为烃类微渗漏会造成地表热异常、红层褪色、低价铁富集以及粘土矿化等现象,并对研究区的粘土矿物、Fe3+、Fe2+与烃类的波普曲线特征进行了分析对比。以ETM卫星图像为主要信息源,选择了TM2/TM3、TM3/TM4和TM5/TM7进行比值处理,从光谱数据中直接提取出碳酸盐化、粘土矿化、红层褪色等油气蚀变信息,并在对研究区遥感地质解译的基础上,指出烃渗漏信息异常晕主要沿断裂带分布,特别在不同走向断裂的交汇区域分布面积和强度较大,而在已知油气圈闭区域,信息晕主要呈碎片状或斑点状零散分布,且以低值异常为主。根据烃渗漏异常的分布特征,提取出石板滩、中坝、孝泉、聚源、鸭子河以及邛崃等遥感信息异常区块。     

Relation between temperature changes of the mid-upper troposphere over Eurasian mid-high latitudes and solar irradiance in the twentieth century

The δ¹⁸O data obtained from an 18.7 m ice core drilled in Chongce Ice Cap at an elevation of 6,530 m a.s.l. in the West Kunlun Mountains on the northern Tibetan Plateau show a strong correlation with the summer temperature of the middle to upper troposphere over the mid-high latitudes of Eurasia. Based on this, the δ¹⁸O record can be used as a proxy of the June–September mean temperature of the mid-upper troposphere (MUT) from 1903 to 1992. The time span of the ice core record is much longer than the meteorological data available only after 1948. Using the empirical mode decomposition method (EMD), the δ¹⁸O record is decomposed into various frequency components and compared with the solar irradiance variations of the same period. The results show that (1) The June–September mean temperature of the MUT over Eurasian mid-high latitudes is completely decomposed into four IMF (intrinsic mode function) components and an increasing trend. (2) Solar irradiance is decomposed into the Schwabe cycle, the Hale cycle, the Gleissberg cycle, and an increasing trend. (3) The correlation coefficients between the June and September mean temperatures of the MUT over Eurasian mid-high latitudes and solar irradiance on the longer timescales (at least more than 11-year) show the significant correlations; their phase changes are basically identical in general, and (4) the 11-year Schwabe cycle exists in the June–September mean temperature of the MUT over Eurasian mid-high latitudes during most of the time from 1903 to 1992, and only in the two high-temperature phases (1929–1944 and from 1975 to the present) may global warming disturb this relation. A full understanding of this phenomenon would shed insight into the potential consequence of global warming on the MUT.     

Effects of natural and calcined oyster shells on Cd and Pb immobilization in contaminated soils

In Korea, soils adjacent to abandoned mines are commonly contaminated by heavy metals present in mine tailings. Further, the disposal of oyster shell waste by oyster farm industries has been associated with serious environmental problems. In this study, we attempted to remediate cadmium (Cd)- and lead (Pb)-contaminated soils typical of those commonly found adjacent to abandoned mines using oyster shell waste as a soil stabilizer. Natural oyster shell powder (NOSP) and calcined oyster shell powder (COSP) were applied as soil amendments to immobilize Cd and Pb. The primary components of NOSP and COSP are calcium carbonate (CaCO₃) and calcium oxide (CaO), respectively. X-ray diffraction, X-ray fluorescence and scanning electron microscope analyses conducted in this study revealed that the calcination of NOSP at 770°C converted the less reactive CaCO₃ to the more reactive CaO. The calcination process also decreased the sodium content in COSP, indicating that it was advantageous to use COSP as a liming material in agricultural soil. After 30 days of incubation, we found that the 0.1 N HCl-extractable Cd and Pb contents in soil decreased significantly as a result of an increase in the soil pH and the formation of metal hydroxides. COSP was more effective in immobilizing Cd and Pb in the contaminated soil than NOSP. Overall, the results of this study suggest that oyster shell waste can be recycled into an effective soil ameliorant.     

Last glacial terrestrial vegetation record of leaf wax n-alkanols in the northern South China Sea: Contrast to scenarios from long-chain n-alkanes

Long-chain n-alkanols and n-alkanes in core sediments from the northern South China Sea (SCS) were measured to make a comparison during terrestrial vegetation reconstruction from ~42 ka to ~7 ka. The results showed that terrestrial vegetation record from long-chain n-alkanes matched well with previous studies in nearby cores, showing that more C₄ plants developed during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and C₃ plants dominated in the interglacial period. However, these scenarios were not revealed by terrestrial vegetation reconstruction using long-chain n-alkanols, which showed C₃ plant expansion during the LGM. The discrepancy during the interglacial period could be attributed to the aerobic degradation of functionalized long-chain n-alkanols in the oxygen-rich bottom water, resulting in poor preservation of terrestrial vegetation signals. On the other hand, the different advantages of functionalized n-alkanols and non-functional n-alkanes to record local and distal vegetation signals, respectively, may offer a potential explanation for the contradiction during the LGM when the SCS was characterized by low-oxygen deep water. Nevertheless, large variations on n-alkyl lipid compositions in C₃/C₄ plants could play a part in modulating sedimentary long-chain n-alkanols and n-alkanes toward different vegetation signals, thereby suggesting that caution must be taken in respect to the terrestrial vegetation reconstruction using long-chain n-alkanes and long-chain n-alkanols.     

Automated multi-scale classification of the terrain units of the Jiaxie Guyots and their mineral resource characteristics

Given the advances in satellite altimetry and multibeam bathymetry, benthic terrain classification based on digital bathymetric models (DBMs) has been widely used for the mapping of benthic topographies. For instance, cobalt-rich crusts (CRCs) are important mineral resources found on seamounts and guyots in the western Pacific Ocean. Thick, plate-like CRCs are known to form on the summit and slopes of seamounts at the 1 000–3 000 m depth, while the relationship between seamount topography and spatial distribution of CRCs remains unclear. The benthic terrain classification of seamounts can solve this problem, thereby, facilitating the rapid exploration of seamount CRCs. Our study used an EM122 multibeam echosounder to retrieve high-resolution bathymetry data in the CRCs contract license area of China, i.e., the Jiaxie Guyots in 2015 and 2016. Based on the DBM construted by bathymetirc data, broad- and fine-scale bathymetric position indices were utilized for quantitative classification of the terrain units of the Jiaxie Guyots on multiple scales. The classification revealed four first-order terrain units (e.g., flat, crest, slope, and depression) and eleven second-order terrain units (e.g., local crests, depressions on crests, gentle slopes, crests on slopes, and local depressions, etc.). Furthermore, the classification of the terrain and geological analysis indicated that the Weijia Guyot has a large flat summit, with local crests at the southern summit, whereas most of the guyot flanks were covered by gentle slopes. “Radial” mountain ridges have developed on the eastern side, while large-scale gravitational landslides have developed on the western and southern flanks. Additionally, landslide masses can be observed at the bottom of these slopes. The coverage of local crests on the seamount is ~1 000 km2, and the local crests on the peak and flanks of the guyots may be the areas where thick and continuous plate-like CRCs are likely to occur.     

HY-1C/D卫星中国海洋水色水温扫描仪几何定位方法

海洋一号C/D（HY-1C/D）卫星中国海洋水色水温扫描仪（Chinese Ocean Color and Temperature Scanner,COCTS）主要用于探测海洋水色、水温等要素,这些要素需要经过卫星资料处理才能获取,而几何定位是预处理的核心,直接影响这些要素的质量。COCTS具有114°视场角和四元逐点摆扫的特征,据此研究出一套完整的几何定位方法。从0级数据中提取卫星星历,利用插值法从中获取采样时间对应的卫星位置和速度,进而得到轨道（ORB）坐标系到地心旋转（ECR）坐标系的转换矩阵。基于四元逐点摆扫的特征,中心视矢量分别绕X轴、Y轴旋转相应角度,获得扫描行各采样点ORB视矢量,建立视矢量与地球交叉点关系模型,从而对根据波段数据绘制的遥感图像进行地理定位。本文使用插值法替代了传统需要6个轨道根数来计算卫星位置的复杂方法,同时直接计算ORB到ECR的转换矩阵,而不采用传统的两步转换方法。经过多组数据计算及定性定量验证,HY-1C/D COCTS几何定位结果一致;采样像元尺度效应导致从星下点到两侧边缘、从赤道到两极,误差逐渐增大,约在两个像元内。该方法满足一定的定位精度要求,可以用于COCTS的几何定位。