The ECOMAN project: A novel approach to defining sustainable ecosystem function

The ECOMAN was initiated in 2001 by the University of Plymouth, UK, Plymouth Marine Laboratory and the Department of the Environment, Fisheries and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) to address the need for more pragmatic assessment techniques linking environmental degradation with its causes. The primary aim of the project was to develop an evidence-based approach in which suites of easy-to-use, cost-effective and environmentally valid biological responses (biomarkers) could be used together to assess the health of coastal systems through the general condition of individuals. A range of sub-lethal endpoints, chosen to reflect successive levels of biological organisation (molecular, cellular, physiological), was evaluated in common coastal organisms showing different feeding types (filter feeding, grazing, predation) and habitat requirements (estuary, rocky shore). Initially, the suite of biomarkers was used in laboratory studies to determine the relative sensitivities of key species within different functional groups to common contaminants. These results were then validated in field studies performed in a range of ecosystems exhibiting different degrees/signatures of contamination. Here, an example is provided of a field study in the Humber Estuary, UK, which illustrates how multivariate statistical analysis can be used to identify patterns of response to discriminate between contaminated and clean sites. The use of a holistic, integrated approach of this kind is advocated as a practical means of assessing the impact of chemical contamination on organismal health and of ranking the status of marine ecosystems.     

Biomarkers of exposure and effect in the Brazilian flounder Paralichthys orbignyanus (Teleostei: Paralichthyidae) from the Patos Lagoon estuary (Southern Brazil)

Biomarkers of exposure (liver metallothionein-like proteins content and catalase and glutathione S-transferase activities) and effect (liver lipoperoxidation and blood cell DNA damage) of contaminants were analyzed in the Brazilian flounder Paralichthys orbignyanus from the Patos Lagoon estuary (Southern Brazil). Flounders were collected for a year in two sites: "Coroa do Boi" (polluted site) and "Saco do Justino" (non-polluted site). Results indicated that micronucleated cells frequency was the best biomarker to distinguish flounders from the two sites. Taken together, data from DNA damage analyses (micronucleus test and comet assay) indicated that flounders from the non-polluted site efficiently repaired the DNA breaks, contrary to those from the polluted site, which probably had their DNA repair system inhibited or exhausted. Furthermore, data from enzyme activities (catalase and GST) and lipid peroxidation indicated that flounders from the polluted site were under oxidative stress in summer and autumn.     

PCB-containing paint and plaster caused extreme PCB-concentrations in biota from the Sørfjord (Western Norway)--a case study

The Sørfjord (Western Norway) has a long history of industry and pollution, and has been monitored for several decades. The environmental monitoring has comprised analyses of different contaminants in sea water, mussel, fish, seaweed and sediments. Measurements of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in blue mussels (Mytilus edulis) some 17 years ago indicated a local source. In 2001 severe concentrations were measured in blue mussels and further investigations disclosed the primary source of PCBs in the Sørfjord. In 2002, extreme PCB-concentrations were found in cod (Gadus morhua) from the same area. However, no induction of EROD activity was detected, indicating the limitations of this assay as marker for PCB contamination. A future scientific challenge will be to understand the specific mechanisms and effects of such PCB accumulation in fish.     

Use of biliary PAH metabolites as a biomarker of pollution in fish from the Baltic Sea

During field campaigns of the BEEP project (Biological Effects of Environmental Pollution in Marine Coastal Ecosystems) in 2001-2002, metabolites of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were determined in bile samples from three fish species, flounder (Platichthys flesus), perch (Perca fluviatilis) and eelpout (Zoarces viviparus), from four separate areas in the Baltic Sea. Two determination methods were applied: fixed wavelength fluorescence (FF) for pyrene-type metabolites and high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection (HPLC). There was a good correlation between the FF method and 1-OH pyrene determined by HPLC. Normalisation of the FF data for absorbance at 380 nm or bile protein concentrations greatly increased variance in one third and decreased it in two thirds of the cases and resulted in a loss of significant differences (protein normalisation) between the sampling stations, but normalisation of the HPLC data had little effect on the results. The biliary PAH metabolite content was usually higher in males than in females. In perch and eelpout the biliary PAH contents were at similar levels, whereas in flounder the levels were lower. The sampling areas arranged in decreasing order of biliary PAH contents were: Wismar Bay > Gulf of Gdansk > Lithuanian coast > Kvadofj?rden (reference area). It is concluded that FF with un-normalised data is a reliable and simple method for monitoring purposes and only one sex of a selected species should be used.     

Laboratory investigation of the effects of mineral size and concentration on the formation of oil-mineral aggregates

Controlled laboratory studies of the formation of oil-mineral aggregates (OMA) in seawater demonstrate that sediment concentration and sediment size are key variables for determining the quantity of oil droplets stabilised by OMA formation. Experiments with a single sediment size and a range of sediment concentrations show that as sediment concentration increases, the quantity of oil trapped in OMA increases abruptly. In experiments with a single sediment concentration and a range of sediment sizes, the quantity of oil trapped in OMA decreases as sediment size increases. These results provide direct support to the hypothesis that there is a critical sediment concentration for OMA formation. Below this concentration, stabilisation of oil droplets by OMA decreases rapidly, while above this concentration, stabilisation is extensive. The results also support simple geometric models of OMA formation that predict that the critical sediment mass concentration increases linearly with sediment particle diameter. These results will help to place quantitative constraint on predictions of where and when OMA formation will be a factor in the natural dispersal of oil accidentally spilled into the ocean.     

北宋中期耕地面积及其空间分布格局重建(英文)

To understand historical human-induced land cover change and its climatic effects, it is necessary to create historical land use datasets with explicit spatial information. Using the taxes-cropland area and number of families compiled from historical documents, we esti-mated the real cropland area and populations within each Lu (a province-level political region in the Northern Song Dynasty) in the mid-Northern Song Dynasty (AD1004-1085). The es-timations were accomplished through analyzing the contemporary policies of tax, population and agricultural development. Then, we converted the political region-based cropland area to geographically explicit grid cell-based fractional cropland at the cell size of 60 km by 60 km. The conversion was based on calculating cultivation suitability of each grid cell using the topographic slope, altitude and population density as the independent variables. As a result, the total area of cropland within the Northern Song territory in the 1070s was estimated to be about 720 million mu (Chinese area unit, 1 mu = 666.7 m2), of which 40.1% and 59.9% oc-curred in the north and south respectively. The population was estimated to be about 87.2 million, of which 38.7% and 61.3% were in the north and south respectively, and per capita cropland area was about 8.2 mu. The national mean reclamation ratio (i.e. ratio of cropland area to total land area; RRA hereafter for short) was bout 16.6%. The plain areas, such as the North China Plain, the middle and lower reaches of the Yangtze River, Guanzhong Plain, plains surrounding the Dongting Lake and Poyang Lake and Sichuan Basin, had a higher RRA, being mostly over 40%; while the hilly and mountainous areas, such as south of Nanling Mountains, the southwest regions (excluding the Chengdu Plain), Loess Plateau and south-east coastal regions, had a lower RRA, being less than 20%. Moreover, RRA varied with topographic slope and altitude. In the areas of low altitude (≤250 m), middle altitude (250-100 m) and high altitude (1000-3500 m), there were 443 million, 215 million and 64 million mu of cropland respectively and their regional mean RRAs were 27.5%, 12.6% and 7.2% respectively. In the areas of flat slope, gentle slope, medium slope and steep slope, there were 116 million, 456 million, 144 million and 2 million mu of cropland respectively and their regional mean RRAs were 34.6%, 20.7%, 8.5% and 2.3% respectively.     

近实时公共气象服务分析图网站发布

给出一种基于开源IDV工具构建气象产品网站发布平台的设计思路和实现方法。近实时公共气象服务分析图将使用人员定位于浏览器端县乡级气象、农技、公众群体,突出分析图的时空分级覆盖、耕作层气象服务、山地气象服务和灾害气象服务。通过内容、时间、区域以及表现形式4个方面的分解,描述了网站的设计原理。通过本体技术实现气象要素向气象知识的过渡。通过图形产品的静态和动态层分别处理,提高了二维和三维图形产品的生成速度。构建形成的气象产品发布平台已经在多个网站得到应用并得到好评。     

能见度观测现状浅谈

针对当前能见度操作中的景况,提出能见度观测中被忽视的几个突出问题,旨在提高能见度观测的正确度.     

电源避雷器安装应注意的问题

该文分析在防雷工程施工安装避雷器的选型、安装位置确定中应注意的问题。     

X波段双极化多普勒天气雷达极限降水的估计能力

首先分析了X波段双极化多普勒天气雷达降水估计的误差来源及其影响,然后分析了信比、积累阶数对降水估计精度的影响,明确雷达系统本身的测量误差所能达到的理想程度,结果表明在双通道的积累次数M=64,信噪比SNR=10dB的条件下差分反射率的σ(ZDR)=0.32dB,则相应R(Z,ZDR)的降水估计精度最好能达到44%,同样条件下差分相位的σ(ΦDP)=0.08°,那么在降水率R=50mm/h时R(KDP)的降水估计精度最好能达8.6%。