A decade of change in the Skidaway River estuary I. Hydrography and nutrients

The Skidaway River estuary is a tidally-dominated subtropical estuary in the southeastern USA surrounded by extensiveSpartina salt marshes. Weekly smapling at high and low tide began in 1986 for hydrography, nutrients, chlorophylla, particulate matter, and microbial and plankton biomass and composition; hydrographic and nutrient data during 1986–1996 are reported here. Salinity varied inversely with river discharge and exhibited variability at all time scales but with no long-term trend. Water temperature typically ranged over 25°C and was without apparent long-term frend. Seasonal cycles in concentrations of NO₃, NH₄, PO₄, Si(OH)₄, and DON were observed, with annual maxima generally occurring in late summer. Superimposed on seasonal cycles, all five nutrients exhibited steady increases in minimum, mean, and maximum concentrations; mean concentrations increased c. 50–150% during the decade. Nutrient concentrations were highly correlated with water temperature over the ten-year period, but weakly related to salinity and discharge. Nutrients were strongly correlated with one another, and the relative ratios among inorganic nutrients showed little long-term trend. Correlations among temperature and nutrient concentrations exhibited considerable inter-annual variability. Major spikes in organic and inorganic nutrient concentrations coincided with significant rainfall events; concentrations increased hyperbolically with rainfall. Although pristine compared to more heavily impacted waterways primarily outside the region, residential development and population density have been increasing rapidly during the past 15–20 years. Land use is apparently altering nutrient loading over the long-term (months-years), and superimposed on this are stochastic meteorological events that accelerate these changes over the short term (days-weeks).     

中原地区M≥6级地震后的减(增)震效应

通过对中原地区1500年－2000年所有19次M≥6级地震后空间图像的分析，初步认为M≥6级地震发生后平均63年内，在距原震中平均176km内无M≥5级地震发生，全部19次震例均呈现出内部减震效应，而在其外围出现地震增强的活动图像特征，增震效应对应率为72％。这种强震后的减（增）震效应，不仅对地震危险性分析，而且对1年尺度以上的地震趋势预测均有一定的意义。     

Fuzzy neural network models for liquefaction prediction

Integrated fuzzy neural network models are developed for the assessment of liquefaction potential of a site. The models are trained with large databases of liquefaction case histories. A two-stage training algorithm is used to develop a fuzzy neural network model. In the preliminary training stage, the training case histories are used to determine initial network parameters. In the final training stage, the training case histories are processed one by one to develop membership functions for the network parameters. During the testing phase, input variables are described in linguistic terms such as ‘high’ and ‘low’. The prediction is made in terms of a liquefaction index representing the degree of liquefaction described in fuzzy terms such as ‘highly likely’, ‘likely’, or ‘unlikely’. The results from the model are compared with actual field observations and misclassified cases are identified. The models are found to have good predictive ability and are expected to be very useful for a preliminary evaluation of liquefaction potential of a site for which the input parameters are not well defined.     

Kosa (yellow sand) components in precipitation collected at central Japan

In east Asia, acidic gases derived from fossil fuel combustion have increased in the past decades. On the other hand, the Asian dust, also called Kosa (yellow sand) is transported following windstorms from arid lands in the Asian continent. Many researchers have been interested in the reaction between acidic aerosols and Kosa aerosols as well as the long-range transport of these emissions. To investigate the characteristics of chemical components in precipitation on a long-term basis over Japan, precipitation was sequentially collected from April 1984 to March 1997 at Kanazawa located near the coast of the Sea of Japan. Precipitation samples were collected at 1 mm intervals for the first 5 mm rainfall and all volume of rainwater after 6 mm for all precipitation events with an automatic wet only precipitation collector. According to the analyses of precipitation including Kosa aerosols during Kosa periods, the reaction in the air between Kosa and acidic components during the long-range transport was discussed.     

Expansion and contraction of Chinese deserts during the Quaternary

Episodic dune formations during the Quaternary are found in many deserts of China. The causes of desert expansions on different time scales are not the same. Desert extension at about 1.1 and 0.9 Ma ago were the response to the active tectonic movements, whereas the desert evolutions on the ten-thousand years time scale were the response to the orbital scale climatic changes. Spatial scale studies on desert evolution indicate that desert margins shifted greatly during the last glacial maximum (LGM) and the Holocene optimum, its changing from 125°E of the LGM to 105°E of the climatic optimum. Historical desertification in the semiarid China is not a response to climate drought but largely associated with the human impacts (mainly over-cultivation) since about 2300 years ago, which leads to the reworking of the underlying LGM sands.     

Getting ‘holistic’ about land rehabilitation in hot arid regions

The paper describes Western Australian examples and causes of land degradation. It outlines shortcomings in the methodologies used to rehabilitate these areas. From this a protocol is suggested for an ‘holistic’ approach to land rehabilitation.     

试论少数民族地区的生态化旅游开发

生态化旅游开发是有别于传统的旅游开发的一种可持续开发与发展的理念，它追求的是生态、社会和经济综合效益的最大化，应该成为旅游开发与旅游业发展的主要方向。民族地区的旅游开发具有特定的区域生态特征。其生态化旅游开发的核心问题是旅游环境容量的确定与旅游环境的保护、民族特色与民族文化的弘扬以及注重旅游经济发展过程中旅游业的拉动效应及其依托性之间的关系处理等。     

Dynamic processes of a simple linear dune—a study in the Taklimakan Sand Sea, China

Samples of dune sands, surveys of the morphology and field measurements of wind velocity and direction of a simple linear dune in Taklimakan Sand Sea show that the airflow and sand flux vary with the change of wind direction on the dune surface. Decrease of the airflow stress on the lee flank does not result in much decrease of the sand flux because of the low threshold shear velocities and the airflow conditions. There are no significant relations between the sand flux on the lee flank and the angle of incidence of the airflow. The low threshold shear velocities and the maintenance of the sand flux at the lee flank are the main mechanisms keeping the linear shape of the dunes. Measurements of the sand flux shows that it reaches a maximum on the crest of the dune. The grain size of the transported sands has some differences compared to that of the dune surface. The sands transported are finer than that on the dune surface, but better sorted under the influence of the medium to low wind activity. The field experiment results exhibit that it is possible for the dunes to be shaped as linear dunes during the processes of accumulation and elongation.