The Asian Tsunami disaster,December 2004

The tragic scenes of human suffering in the wake of the Asian tsunami in late December 2004 have thrown into sharp relief the Earth's destructive power (Fig. 1 ). Caused by a tectonic event off the coast of Sumatra, it could be described as a very large earthquake, an unusual tsunami and a massive disaster. Or, with a longer view, it could be considered a normal feature of a convergent plate boundary. Both views are correct.

Figure 1 Open in figure viewer PowerPoint Mass destruction after the tsunami hit the village on the sand bar at Phi Phi Island, Thailand, with unscathed limestone hills behind (Rex Features).     

Tectonic and Topographic Framework of Political Division

Boundaries between the various topographic, geologic, and socio-political entities that span the Earths continental surfaces are determined by a myriad of complexly interrelated natural and/or cultural factors. Areas of large river basins, of lithologic units on geologic maps, and of nations exhibit size frequency distributions that are closely approximated by density functions in which diameters of individual areas are distributed exponentially. As such, size distributions of each type of surface unit are closely modeled as randomly delimited areas. In other words, if one were to walk in a straight line across any particular continent, each step along that transect would embody some random continuous probability of passing out of a major drainage basin, or out of an area of more or less homogeneous rock type, or from one country to another. Moreover, this simple truism gives rise to area frequency distributions for large river basin or outcrop or nation area that are primarily dependent on the number of basins or outcrops or countries that exist across that particular landmass. As a consequence, the size frequencies of these areal units can be closely predicted knowing only the total area under consideration and the number of drainage basins, outcrop areas, or nations that exist within the area. The similarity between area frequencies of large river basins and rock types and nations suggests a nontrivial component of geologic influence on the partitioning of continental surfaces into major political divisions, and implies that cultural and economic factors, which serve to divide and unite political entities, do so within a geological framework.     

Role of lipid/water partitioning and membrane composition in the uptake of organochlorine pesticides into a freshwater mussel

The aim of this investigation is to understand the factors influencing uptake of persistent organochlorine pesticides into a freshwater mussel (Sphaerium corneum). Previous work has shown that although a substantial proportion of dieldrin is bound to particulates in the river system, uptake is from the dieldrin in solution. This suggests partitioning of the hydrophobic xenobiotics into membranes as the major route of entry. Membrane composition was established using lipid fractionation into neutral lipids and phospholipids followed by derivatisation to fatty acid methyl esters and estimation using GC/FID. Membrane composition varied with acclimation temperature over the range 5–20°C. Dieldrin concentrations in the mussel at equilibrium with 2000 ng dieldrin/litre water burden were studied at one temperature under laboratory conditions using animals acclimated to different temperatures. Any differences may be explicable in terms of effects of membrane composition on partitioning or other physiological adaptations. To establish which of these factors is most significant a membrane fragment partition system has been analysed in vitro. Preliminary results indicate that although water/lipid partitioning may be important in entry (and exit) of non-polar xenobiotics, significant differences could not be found using current methods. The role of membrane composition and therefore temperature history of the organism may still be significant. The implications of this for attempted correlations between bioaccumulation factors and simple octanol/water partition coefficients are discussed.     

A simple method for calibrating optical backscatter sensors in high concentrations of non-cohesive sediments

A new method is introduced for calibrating optical backscatter sensors for suspended quartz sand concentrations of up to 200 kg m⁻³. Due to the high settling velocity of quartz sand in water, considerable difficulties have arisen in the past to maintain a spatially and temporally homogeneous suspension suitable for calibration. Traditional methods are clumsy and prone to errors. Here, the sediment is calibrated in glycerol, a clear fluid with a higher viscosity than water. The settling velocity is reduced by three orders of magnitude. An empirical relationship is obtained which is used to correct for any optical differences in response of the sensors in the two fluids. Any extra errors introduced by calibrating with a different fluid from that found in the field are outweighed by the simplicity and reliability of this method.     

Sustainability implications of honouring the Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries

The Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries developed in 1995 by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations includes a set of recommendations for reducing the negative impacts of fishing activities on marine ecosystems. The Code is widely believed to be an important tool for fisheries management and, although the Code is voluntary, all stakeholders concerned with the management and development of fisheries, and conservation of fishery resources, are actively encouraged to implement it. Previous analysis at global scale showed widespread low compliance with the Code of Conduct that may be partly due to a lack of empirical support for the overall ecological benefits of adhering to the Code. Here we evaluated these ecological effects by comparing compliance with the Code to changes in five ecological indicators that quantify the ecosystem effects of fishing. We used the loss in production index and the related probability of sustainable fishing index, the mean trophic level of the catch, total catches, and the primary production required to sustain the catch. We also tested if regional differences and development status of countries influenced the results of ecological indicators. Results indicate that countries with higher levels of compliance with the FAO Code of Conduct in 2008 experienced a decrease in the Loss in Production index and an increase in fisheries sustainability from the 1990s to 2000s. We conclude that better implementation of the Code of Conduct may have had overall positive ecological effects with time. A significant decrease in total catch and primary production required with higher compliance was also observed. While a significant increase in ecosystem sustainability was observed after a decade of adoption of the Code at high levels of compliance, further ecosystem degradation had taken place where compliance with the Code was below a given threshold (4, from a ranking of 0–10). Therefore, since compliance with the Code is still low or very low worldwide, these results may encourage individual countries to adopt well-established fishery management measures in order to increase the ecological sustainability of marine resources.     

Clay mineralogy, organic carbon burial, and redox evolution in Proterozoic oceans

Clay minerals formed through chemical weathering have long been implicated in the burial of organic matter (OM), but because diagenesis and metamorphism commonly obscure the signature of weathering-derived clays in Precambrian rocks, clay mineralogy and its role in OM burial through much of geologic time remains incompletely understood. Here we have analyzed the mineralogy, geochemistry and total organic carbon (TOC) of organic rich shales deposited in late Archean to early Cambrian sedimentary basins. Across all samples we have quantified the contribution of 1M and 1M_d illite polytypes, clay minerals formed by diagenetic transformation of smectite and/or kaolinite-rich weathering products. This mineralogical signal, together with corrected paleo-weathering indices, indicates that late Archean and Mesoproterozoic samples were moderately to intensely weathered. However, in late Neoproterozoic basins, 2M₁ illite/mica dominates clay mineralogy and paleo-weathering indices sharply decrease, consistent with an influx of chemically immature and relatively unweathered sediment. A late Neoproterozoic switch to micaceous clays is inconsistent with hypotheses for oxygen history that require an increased flux of weathering-derived clays (i.e., smectite or kaolinite) across the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary. Compared to previous studies, our XRD data display the same variation in Schultz Ratio across the late Neoproterozoic, but we show the cause to be micaceous clay and not pedogenic clay; paleo-weathering signals cannot be recovered from bulk mineralogy without this distinction. We find little evidence to support a link between these mineralogical variations and organic carbon in our samples and conclude that modal clay mineralogy cannot by itself explain an Ediacaran increase in atmospheric oxygen driven by enhanced OM burial.     

2005年中国天坑考察报告

2005年朱学稳教授组织实施了"中国天坑考察项目",并取得了圆满成功.本文是此次考察的总结报告,内容包括重庆和广西喀斯特区天坑(大型塌陷漏斗)的实地考察,以及在桂林中国地质科学院岩溶地质研究所为正式通过对天坑定义举行的研讨会.