A 400-year record of black carbon flux in the Xisha archipelago, South China Sea and its implication

We reconstructed the first long-term (∼400 years) records of black carbon (BC) deposition flux from three ornithogenic sediment profiles, which were collected from three remote, isolated islets of the Xisha archipelago, South China Sea. The significant correlations between black carbon, organic matter and excess ²¹⁰Pb suggested that black carbon was mainly derived from atmospheric deposition, and further enriched by plant-derived organic matter in sediments. During the past 400 years, the BC flux remained relatively low before the onset of 20th century; it started to increase from approximately 1900 AD, and peaked around the 1970s. In the recent 30 years, the BC flux seemed to display decreasing trend, very likely due to the change of energy structure and development of pollution control techniques. In comparison with marginal sea regions that are greatly impacted by anthropogenic activities, these pristine Xisha islands were not significantly influenced by black carbon of anthropogenic origin.     

Biased monitoring of fresh water-salt water mixing zone in coastal aquifers

In coastal aquifers, significant vertical hydraulic gradients are formed where fresh water and underlying salt water discharge together upward to the seafloor. Monitoring boreholes may act as "short circuits" along these vertical gradients, connecting between the higher and the lower hydraulic head zones. When a sea tide is introduced, the fluctuations of both the water table and the depth of the mixing zone are also biased due to this effect. This problem is intensified in places of long-screen monitoring boreholes, which are common in many places in the world. For example, all approximately 500 boreholes of the fresh water-salt water mixing zone in the coastal aquifer of Israel are installed with 10 to 50 m long screens. We present field measurements of these fluctuations, along with a three-dimensional numerical model. We find that the in-well fluctuation magnitude of the mixing zone is an order of magnitude larger than that in the porous media of the actual aquifer. The primary parameters that affect the magnitude of this bias are the anisotropy of the aquifer conductivity and the borehole hydraulic parameters. With no sea tide, borehole interference is higher for the anisotropic case because the vertical hydraulic gradients are high. When tides are introduced, the amplitude of the mixing zone fluctuation is higher for the isotropic case because the overall effective hydraulic conductivity is greater than the conductivity in the anisotropic case. In the aquifer, the fresh water-salt water mixing zone fluctuations are dampened, and tens of meters inland from the shoreline, the fluctuations are on the order of few centimeters.     

The distributions of particulate heavy metals and its indication to the transfer of sediments in the Changjiang Estuary and Hangzhou Bay,China

Particulate heavy metals (Cu, Pb, Cd) were measured following intensive sampling in June and October 1994 at 70 stations in the Changjiang Estuary and Hangzhou Bay, China. In the study area, particulate Cu and Pb have a similar level that is higher than the concentration of particulate Cd. Cu, Pb and Cd concentrations in suspended sediments are higher than those in bed load. In the middle of Hangzhou Bay, heavy metal concentrations in suspended sediments and bed load are similar. This may be the result of the frequent exchange between them, which is due to the strong dynamic condition. A negative relationship was observed between concentrations of heavy metals in bed load and bulk density. Fine-grained sediments were the main carriers of heavy metals. Sedimentary dynamics dominate the fate of heavy metals in these sites. The distributions of metals (especially Cu) in suspended sediments can indicate the transfer of sediments in this area.     

A global survey of perfluorinated acids in oceans

Perfluorinated acids and their salts have emerged as an important class of global environmental contaminants. Biological monitoring surveys conducted using tissues of marine organisms reported the occurrence of perfluorooctanesulfonate (PFOS) and related perfluorinated compounds in biota from various seas and oceans, including the Arctic and the Antarctic Oceans. Occurrence of perfluorinated compounds in remote marine locations is of concern and indicates the need for studies to trace sources and pathways of these compounds to the oceans. Determination of sub-parts-per-trillion (ng/L) or parts-per-quadrillion (pg/L) concentrations of aqueous media has been impeded by relatively high background levels arising from procedural or instrumental blanks. Our research group has developed a reliable and highly sensitive analytical method by which to monitor perfluorinated compounds in oceanic waters. The method developed is capable of detecting PFOS, perfluorohexanesulfonate (PFHS), perfluorobutanesulfonate (PFBS), perfluorooctanoate (PFOA), perfluorononanoate (PFNA), and perfluorooctanesulfonamide (PFOSA) at a few pg/L in oceanic waters. The method was applied to seawater samples collected during several international research cruises undertaken during 2002–2004 in the central to eastern Pacific Ocean (19 locations), South China Sea and Sulu Seas (five), north and mid Atlantic Ocean (12), and the Labrador Sea (20). An additional 50 samples of coastal seawater from several Asian countries (Japan, China, Korea) were analyzed. PFOA was found at levels ranging from several thousands of pg/L in water samples collected from coastal areas in Japan to a few tens of pg/L in the central Pacific Ocean. PFOA was the major contaminant detected in oceanic waters, followed by PFOS. Further studies are being conducted to elucidate the distribution and fate of perfluorinated acids in oceans.     

华北陆块岩石圈减薄作用:热薄化与机械拉伸的数值模拟研究

针对华北陆块岩石圈减薄作用的动力学机制开展了一系列二维定量数值模拟研究。其模拟结果表明,在给定的岩石圈热传导和放射性生热条件下,岩石圈底部地幔热流(mantlethermalflux)的增加能导致岩石圈内热状态的明显改变,导致早古生代以来华北岩石圈厚度的巨大变化,当地幔热流达到35～40mWm-2,华北陆块的岩石圈厚度将减薄至100km以内。单纯的机械拉张同样能导致岩石圈厚度的薄化,但岩石圈厚度的减薄相对有限。即使拉张伸展率达25%,其岩石圈厚度最大减薄至150km。因此通过数值模拟的研究揭示了这样的事实,即华北陆块岩石圈厚度的减薄主要受制于岩石圈内热状态的变化,以热侵蚀的减薄方式为主,机械拉张作用可能对华北陆块岩石圈厚度的减薄作用有一定贡献。     

Comparison between Paleozoic and Cenozoic Lithospheric Mantle in Eastern Part of North China Block: With a Discussion of Mantle Evolution

Basedontheconsiderationswhetherornottherearedif-ferencesincompositionsofthemantlematerial,betweenPale-ozoicandCenozoic,andthedifferencesinrocksamp1esfrommantleliewithinandoutsideoftheTancheng-Lujiang(Tanlu)faultzoneinCenozoic,themineralinclusionsindia-mQndandxenolithsfromMengyinandFuxiankimberliteswerechosenforconstrainingthenatureofPaleozoicSCLM,andthexenolithsfromtheShanwangandQixiabasaltswererepresentativelychosenforconstrainingthenatureofCeno-zoicSCLMinsideandoutsideoftheTanlufault…     

Viral diseases of olive flounder in Korean hatcheries

In order to elucidate the state of diseases, especially viral diseases, and to prevent viral diseases from occurring in olive flounder hatcheries, a range of studies, including epidemiological study, were performed from 1997 to 2003. The location of the hatcheries investigated includes several representative sites in the east （Kangnung, Uljin, Pohang, Yangsan, Ulsan, Pusan）, south （Wando, Changheung, Goheung, Yeosu, Namhae, Tongyeong, Geoje, Jeju） and west （Seosan, Kunsan, Gochang, Yeongkwang, Mokpo, Chindo） costal areas of the Korea Peninsula. A total of 2000 cases have been examined in 7 years, in which mortality caused by viral agents accounts for 22%, or 446 cases. Mortalities associated with viral infection considerably increased from 14% in 1997 to 27% in 2003. A variety of viral diseases were observed, and the occurrences of viral epidermal hyperplasia, viral ascites and viral deformity, viral nervous necrosis, and hirame rhabdoviral disease are 14%, 51%, 25%, and 8% respectively. By investigating the viral infection of broodstock flounder, the infection rate of marine birnavirus （MABV） in hatcheries was identified to be approximately 30%, therefore, it is highly necessary to acquire and keep non-infected broodstock fishes.     

Dynamical analysis of mesoscale eddy-induced ocean internal waves using linear theories

This study aims to explore generation mechanisms of the ocean internal wave using the dynamical analysis methods based on linear theories. Historical cruise measurements and recent synthetic aperture radar （SAR） observations of mesoscale eddies with diameter of several tens of kilometers to hundreds of kilometers show that the internal wave packets with wavelength of hundreds of meters to kilometer exist inside the mesoscale eddies. This coexistence phenomenon and inherent links between the two different scale processes are revealed in the solutions of governing equations and boundary conditions for the internal wave disturbance with a horizontally slowly variable amplitude in a cylindrical coordinate system. The theoretical solutions indicate that the instability of eddy current field provides the dynamical mechanism to internal wave generation. The derived dispersion relation indicates that the internal wave propagation is modified by the eddy current field structure. The energy equation of the internal waves clearly shows the internal wave energy increment comes from the eddy. The theoretical models are used to explain the observation of the mesoscale eddy-induced internal waves off the Norwegian coast. The two-dimensional waveform solution of the anticyclonic eddy-induced internal wave packet appears as ring-shaped curves, which contains the typical features of eddy stream lines. The comparison of theoretical solutions to the structure of the internal wave packets on SAR image shows a good agreement on the major features.     

波浪作用下含气海床内盾构隧道水力及位移响应分析EI北大核心

海底沉积物中气体通常以不连续的气相存在于海床土体中,既有理论研究较少考虑含气海床环境,波浪动压力引起的渗透力导致隧道衬砌附加变形也较少见之于文献。首先,通过Biot固结方程获得了气-水混合流控制方程,结合适用于浅水区的Stokes二阶非线性波浪理论获得了隧道衬砌周围的孔隙水压响应;其次,采用叠加法分别考虑了由波浪引起的海床土体内振荡孔压和累积孔压,并以衬砌周围可能出现的最大孔隙水压及渗透力作为最不利荷载工况,结合指数衰减模型描述衬砌劣化效应,获得了考虑波浪渗透力作用下隧道衬砌服役期间位移变化规律;最后,通过试验监测数据及数值模拟验证了本研究理论解析的准确性,通过对波浪周期、水深,海床剪切模量、海床含气量,隧道半径、埋深、衬砌劣化系数进行分析。结果表明:海床含气量增大能降低波浪压力向海床内部传播,并减弱超静孔压的累积效应;随着海床含气量逐渐增大,隧道衬砌周围孔压极值不断减小且出现相位滞后,隧道外渗透力、衬砌径向位移均随着海床含气量增加而明显降低;波浪周期增大、海水深度降低均能明显使海床表面的波浪压力增大,诱发隧道衬砌周围产生较大的渗透力,从而发生较大径向位移,小半径、浅埋深能够有效降低累积孔压造成的渗透力影响;当衬砌劣化系数相同时,含气量越低的海床内波浪引起的超静孔隙水压影响越显著,衬砌产生较大径向位移,不利于隧道的正常服役。     

A Giant Gold System, Geita Greenstone Belt, Tanzania

Please refer to the attachment(s) for more details.