Influence of anthropogenic pressure and seasonal upwelling on coral reefs in Nha Trang Bay (Central Vietnam)

The growing coastal development, dredging and dumping activities, overfishing and expansion of marine cage culture in Nha Trang Bay (NTB) of Central Vietnam since the beginning of the 2000s have resulted in a dramatic decrease of live coral cover. Surveys conducted in April–May 2013 and the same period in 2014 revealed that with an increase in distance from the outer part of the bay towards the mainland, the rivers’ influxes and dredged areas, coral cover decreased from 75% to 0.6% and species richness from 63 to 5, while the abundance of macroalgae increased from 0% to 56%. These changes correlate with differences in the concentration of suspended sediments on the same gradient. The abundance of the crown‐of‐thorns starfish Acanthaster planci and of the echinoid Diadema setosum significantly increased between the first estimation in 1998 and the survey in 2014, from 0 to 1.7 individuals (ind.) per 100 m^?2 and from 50.8 to 94.5 ind. per 100 m^?2, respectively, contributing to coral loss and intensive bioerosion of the reef framework in the bay. The large sizes of adult colonies of tabulate Acropora on the remote stations with negligible sedimentation and eutrophication loads were inconsistent with the assumptions that temperature‐induced coral bleaching or cyclones could be the major impacts in Nha Trang Bay. Analysis of the 16‐year thermal history of the bay did not reveal any instances in which the coral thermal bleaching threshold had been exceeded up to the present study. Seasonal upwelling, which occurs annually in the vicinity of Central Vietnam, may contribute to mitigation of thermal anomalies within NTB and to the maintenance of healthy coral communities on the remote reefs with relatively low anthropogenic impact.     

Microbial biomass response to different quantities and sources of organic matter in Brazilian coastal sediments

This study investigates the benthic microbial responses to organic matter (OM) variations in quantity and sources in two shallow water bays (Fortaleza and Ubatuba Bays) on the SE coast of Brazil on six occasions during the year. The pelagic and benthic compartments of the bays were evaluated by: (i) nutrients and chlorophyll a (Chl a) in the water column; (ii) quantity and sources of OM in the sediment (Chl a, total organic carbon and total nitrogen and lipid biomarker composition); and (iii) microbial biomass in sediments as an indicator of active benthic response. Although there were changes in water‐column nutrients during the year, Chl a was fairly constant, suggesting a regular supply of microalgae‐derived OM to the sea bottom. Based on the composition of lipid biomarkers in sediments, OM sources were classified as mostly marine and with high contributions of labile (microalgae‐derived) OM. Labile OM composition varied from diatoms in the summer to phytoflagellates in the winter and tended to accumulate in areas protected by physical disturbances in one of the bays. Microbial biomass followed this trend and was 160% higher in protected than in exposed areas. This study suggests that the coupling between labile OM and benthic microbial biomass occurs primarily in protected areas, irrespective of the time of the year. Since meio‐ and macrofaunal assemblages depend upon secondary microbial production within the sediments, this coupling may have an important role for the benthic food‐web.     

Contribution of the demographic factor to the migration turnarounds in Japan,Sweden and Canada

"It is well known that similar changes of migration pattern occurred during recent decades in most developed countries; core regions recorded a greatly decreased net in-migration in the 1970s, but increased net in-migration in the 1980s. Based on shift-share analysis of the migration data of Japan, Sweden and Canada, this paper reveals that changing cohort size, especially related to the fertility fluctuation of baby boom and bust, has played an important role in the turnarounds. Furthermore, it is elucidated from a series of correlation analyses that this demographic factor was closely linked with labour-market restructuring in terms of industrial/occupational employment changes."     

Evolution of sedimentary basins from the standpoint of petroleum origin and accumulation—an approach for a quantitative basin study

Generation, migration and accumulation of petroleum in a sedimentary basin is a function of geologic, hydrodynamic and thermodynamic development of the basin and the type and amount of organic matter. Temperature history not only determines rate of hydrocarbon generation, but also affects paleohydrodynamics and physical and thermal properties vs depth relationships. Therefore, paleotemperature is the most important parameter. Paleohydrodynamics together with geologic history of the basin is important in shaping secondary migration patterns and accumulation of hydrocarbons.Quantification of all the above processes is complicated. Steps in constructing a deterministic dynamic model for calculation of petroleum potential during a sedimentary basin development are stated and analyzed in this paper. The effect of paleotemperature variations on petroleum generation and on physical properties of sedimentary sequences are illustrated by numerical examples. Computer models will enable exploration geologists to make quantitative exploration predictions in sedimentary basins.     

Physical disturbance creates bacterial dominance of benthic biological communities in tropical deltaic environments of the Gulf of Papua

Unlike many reactive continental shelf mud deposits in temperate regions, bacteria and microfauna rather than macrofauna typically dominate benthic biomass and activities over large areas of the Gulf of Papua (GoP) deltaic complex, Papua New Guinea. During mid NW monsoon periods (Jan–Feb), macrofaunal densities at Gulf stations were relatively low (), large macroinfauna were absent (upper 25 cm), and small (), surface deposit-feeding polychaetes and tubiculous amphipods were dominant, reflecting a frequently destabilized seabed and high sedimentation/erosion rates. Although frequent physical disturbance generally inhibits development of macrobenthic communities, some regions of the Gulf deposits are periodically colonized and extensively bioturbated during quiescent periods, as shown by preserved biogenic sedimentary structures. Bacterial inventories integrated over the top 20 cm were extremely variable within each sub region of the clinoform complex. A possible bimodal pattern with bathymetric depth and distance offshore may occur: lowest-inventories within the sandy, proximal Fly River delta, an open Gulf inner topset zone (10–20 m) having sites of relatively high inventories, an open Gulf mid-topset region with intermediate values and less extreme variation, and the outer topset—upper foreset zone (40–50 m) where highest values are attained (). Various measures of microbial activity, including measures proportional to the cellular rRNA content and the proportion of dividing cells, indicate extremely productive populations over the upper 1-m of the seabed throughout the Gulf of Papua region. Bacterial biomass (0–20 cm) including data of Alongi et al. (1991, 1992, 1995) varied from a low of in intertidal mud banks to a high of in the topset—foreset zone. Macrofaunal biomass did not exceed in any sampled region, ranging from 0.009±0 to with no obvious correlation with bathymetric depth (1–63 m). Meiofaunal biomass was generally an order of magnitude lower than macrofaunal biomass. Relatively elevated bacterial biomass and high turnover rates are consistent with high measured rates of benthic remineralization, presumably reflecting the rapid response time of bacteria to physical reworking, the associated entrainment of organic substrate, and flushing of metabolites. Solute exchange is also enhanced below the directly mixed surface region, possibly producing ‘far field’ stimulation of microbes in underlying deposits. Physical reworking and reoxidation of sediments between 10 and 50 m water depth maintain suboxic, nonsulfidic conditions in the upper 0.5–1 m despite active microbial communities and high benthic remineralization rates.     

Bender Elements在测试土样剪切波速中的应用

本文以作者在香港理工大学土木与结构工程系设计制作的一套BenderElements为例,介绍了BenderElements的原理、发展历史、应用范围、使用方法和注意事项等。BenderElements是由压电陶瓷材料制成的,在拉伸、压缩作用下,会产生正、负电荷,反过来,给它施加正、负电荷后,它又可产生弯曲振动,正是利用它的这一特性,将其作成接收和发射装置,来测试土样的剪切波速Vs。BenderElements在安装使用时,防水和静电屏蔽十分关键。Vs可在场地地震反应、液化判别、动力基础设计、检测地基改良效果等方面获得应用。震相识别的原则是接收信号的第一个峰值为到时。     

ON THE OCCURRENCE OF SPHAEROSIDERITE IN A SUBBITUMINOUS COAL FROM HSIAN COAL MINE,LIAONING PROVINCE

Mr.T.F.Hou,geologist of the National Geological Survey of Chinabrought back in 1931 from Liaoning province,a specimen of subbituminous coalin which are included patches or aggregates of small oolites.This interestingspecimen was given to the writer for microscopical investigation.Both polished     

THINNED POLISHED SECTION OF COAL,A NEW TECHNIQUE IN COAL PETROGRAPHY

Opinions often differ among coal petrographers as to the relative ad-vantages of the thin sections and the polished sections.In reality both of themare useful and they should be used simultaneously in order to get a clear and     

Geochemical processes controlling arsenic mobility in groundwater: A case study of arsenic mobilization and natural attenuation

The behavior of As in the subsurface environment was examined along a transect of groundwater monitoring wells at a Superfund site, where enhanced reductive dechlorination (ERD) is being used for the remediation of groundwater contaminated with chlorinated solvents. The transect was installed parallel to the groundwater flow direction through the treatment area. The ERD technology involves the injection of organic C (OC) to stimulate in situ microbial dechlorination processes. A secondary effect of the ERD treatment at this site, however, is the mobilization of As, as well as Fe and Mn. The concentrations of these elements are low in groundwater collected upgradient of the ERD treatment area, indicating that, in the absence of the injected OC, the As that occurs naturally in the sediment is relatively immobile. Batch experiments conducted using sediments from the site inoculated with an Fe(III)- and As(V)-reducing bacterium and amended with lactate resulted in mobilization of As, Fe and Mn, suggesting that As mobilization in the field is due to microbial processes.     

Formation of chlorite rims and the impact of pore-lining chlorite on reservoir quality: a case study from Shiqianfeng sandstones in upper Permian of Dongpu Depression,Bohai Bay Basin,eastern China

The source material, precursor and formation processes of chlorite rims, and impact of pore-lining chlorite on reservoir quality of the Shiqianfeng sandstones, Dongpu Depression, Bohai Bay Basin, China, are studied using an integrated approach, including core observation, point-count analysis of thin-sections, scanning electron microscopy, electron microprobe analysis and cathode luminescence. The petrographic analysis shows that chlorite rims consist of grain-coating chlorite, poorly crystalline pore-lining chlorite and euhedral-crystallised pore-lining chlorite. The chemical composition shows that pore-lining chlorite is mainly Fe-rich with an average of 0.785 for Fe/(Fe+Mg) ratio. Petrographic analysis shows a large amount of volcanic dust (3.0～16.0 vol%, average of 7.93 vol%) in Shiqianfeng sandstones, which determines the formation of poorly crystalline pore-lining chlorite. Transformation of volcanic dust to smectite rims started with shallow burial depth at an early diagenetic stage, followed by in situ alteration of the smectite rims to poorly crystalline chlorite rims. Euhedral-crystallised chlorite mainly develops in sandstones with high porosity, high permeability and open flow systems. Pore-lining chlorite can inhibit quartz overgrowth but cannot effectively prevent pore-filling of authigenic quartz, carbonate and kaolinite cements, and therefore cannot prevent porosity destruction. However, the occurrence of pore-lining chlorite is a barometer of good reservoir quality and intense hydrodynamic conditions.