Carbon and nitrogen mineralization in soils along a desertification gradient in the semiarid Horqin Sandy Land, Northern China

This experiment was conducted in three sites along a desertification gradient in Horqin Sandy Land, Northern China. Soils una-mended and amended with five types of plant residue in a wide range of C:N ratios from 9.9 to 82.2 were incubated for 70 days, during which C and N mineralization were measured. Along the desertification gradient from fixed sand dune to semifixed, and mobile sand dune: cumulative CO2-C produced from the unamended soils was 231.6, 193.3 and 61.9 μg/g, respectively, while net inorganic N was 22.9, 17.6 and 0.9 mg/kg. Soils amended with residues produced more CO2-C than the unamended soils across all sites. During the first 10 days, C mineralization rate of residue-amended soils decreased with the increase of C:N ratio at each site. However, the mineralization rates were poorly correlated with the C:N ratio in subsequent stage of incubation. Soils of mobile sand dune amended with higher C:N ratio (more than 32) residues produced less CO2-C than that of fixed and semifixed sand dune. NO3--N was the predominant form of inorganic N during the mineralization process in sandy soils. Carbon-to-nitrogen ratio (C:N) can be regarded as a predictor of the speed of N mineralization in sandy soil. The more C. microphylla residue with the lowest C:N ratio (9.9) added in soils, the more net inorganic N released. Our results suggest that C. microphylla residue when added to soil would potentially provide short-term plant available N and improve the soil quality in sandy land. The desertification process postponed the release of inorganic N from plant residues.     

Advances in Geochemical Study of Phytolith Occluded Carbon

Phytoliths, also called amorphous silica particles, have a great geochemical stability and could occlude a certain amount of organic carbon during the forming process. At present, phytolith-occluded carbon (PhytOC) is recognized as one of long-term stable carbon sequestration mechanisms and has significant influence on regulating global climate change. At the same time, PhytOC isotope research has great value for paleo-environment, paleo-climate reconstruction and other fields. Therefore, more scholars pay attention to the PhytOC geochemical research. Based on the current research status, we summarized the current state of understading about phytolith forming process, elemental composition, geochemical stability, PhytOC sink and PhytOC isotope application for paleo-environment reconstruction. We also summarized the main problems of geochemical research on phytolith and PhytOC, which will make great contribution to further research on phytolith geochemical research.     

Meso—Cenozoic lithospheric thermal structure in the Bohai Bay Basin,eastern North China Craton

The Bohai Bay Basin is a region where part of the North China Craton has been thinned and destroyed. It has experienced two periods of crustal thinning that occurred during the Cretaceous and Paleogene, but investigations of its Mesozoic and Cenozoic lithospheric thermal structure are limited. Therefore, in this study,the distributions of mantle heat flow, crustal heat flow, and Moho temperatures during the Meso-Cenozoic are calculated based on analyses of the thermal history of the Bohai Bay Basin. The results indicate that the ratio of mantle heat flow to surface heat flow peaked during the late stages of the early Cretaceous and during the middle to late Paleogene. The corresponding mantle heat flow was more than 65% of the surface heat flow. Moho temperatures reached three peaks: 900-1100℃ in the late stages of the early Cretaceous;820-900℃ in the middle to late Paleogene; and(in the Linqing Depression, Cangxian Uplift, and Jizhong Depression) 770-810℃ during the early Neogene. These results reveal that the Bohai Bay Basin experienced significant geological change during the Cretaceous, including the transformation of lithospheric thermal structure from "cold mantle and hot crust" before the Cretaceous to "hot mantle and cold crust" after the Cretaceous. The results also indicate that the basin experienced two large-scale rifting events.Therefore, this work may provide the thermal parameters for further investigations of the geodynamic evolution of eastern China.     

Anti-Phase Relationship Between the East Asian Winter Monsoon and Summer Monsoon During the Holocene?

The relationship between the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM) and East Asian summer monsoon (EASM) during the Holocene is complicated and remains controversial. In this study, analysis of grain size and benthic foraminiferal oxygen isotope, as well as accelerator mass spectrometry ¹⁴C dating was performed on a sediment core retrieved from the newly revealed muddy deposit on the northern South China Sea continental shelf. The history of the EAWM and EASM were reconstructed for the last 8200 a BP. Further analysis in conjunction with previously published paleo-climate proxies revealed that the relationship between the EAWM and EASM during the Holocene is more complex than a simple and strict anti-phase one-both negative and positive correlations were identified. The EAWM and EASM are negatively correlated around 7500, 4800, 4200, 3200, and 300 a BP (cooling periods), while positively correlated around 7100, 3700, and 2100 a BP (warm periods). In particular, both the EAWM and EASM intensified during the three positive correlation periods. However, we also found that the relationship between these two sub-monsoons is anti-phase during the final phase of particularly hot periods like Holocene Optimum and Medieval warm period. The possible impact from variations of solar irradiance on the relationship between the EAWM and EASM was also discussed.     

EFFECTS OF DCMU ON CHLOROPHYLL FLUORESCENCE RATIO F685/F735 IN MARINE RED,BROWN AND GREEN ALGAE

The chorophyll fluorescence ratio F685/F735 in vivo can be a useful indicator for stress detection inhigher plants and seaweed. DCMU [3 - (3, 4 - dichlorophenyl ) - 1, 1 - dimethylurea] treatment influencesthis ratio. Th effects of DCMU on F685/F735 of marine red, brown and green algae under excitationlight of different wavelengths were investigted. In the brown algae, Laminaria japonica and Undariapinnatifida,DCMU did not increase this ratio under blue light excitation but increased the ratio slightlyunder excitation by green light. For the red algea, Halymenia sinensis, DCMU increased the ratiomarkedly under both blue and green ligh excitation. The percentage increase could reach 50% (undergreen light excitation) and was due to unequal enhancement at the two emission maxima by DCMU. Afraction of chlorophyll which contributed to fluorescence in the 735 nm region was less sensitive toDCMU and was likely from photosystem I of red algae. In the green alga, Ulva pertusa, DCMU causeda slight increase in F685     

国外蒸发研究的进展

随着地表能量交换与物质迁移过程研究的深入及水资源合理利用与管理定量化的迫切要求,蒸发问题越来越受到人们的重视,研究蒸发的紧迫性与重要性也愈来愈明显。国际上对蒸发的研究已有近三百年的历史,至今已取得了一系列成果。Dalton 1802年首先综合了风及空气温、湿度对蒸发的影响提出了著名的道尔顿蒸发定律,它对近代蒸发理论的创立有决定性的作用。     

湖北恩施渔塘坝自然硒的分布及其环境意义

自然硒在渔塘坝富硒碳质岩层及其附近的土壤、废弃“石煤”堆中广泛发育。渔塘坝自然硒的空间分布与富硒碳质岩层密切相关，其纵向分布整体与富硒碳质岩层的走向一致，局部地段呈片状或环带状；横向上沿着富硒碳质岩层的倾向方向，从二叠纪茅口组的碳质硅质岩层到吴家坪组的碳质页岩层，自然硒的发现由易到难。渔塘坝当前的地质环境有利于自然硒的形成和保存，且一旦在表生环境形成后将会在特殊的地段发生次生富集。但是，自然硒形成的地质环境一旦被人类活动打破，暴露于地表的自然硒也能够发生迅速的氧化而再次迁移，进入河流和当地居民的食物链系统。因此，渔塘坝及恩施地区广泛分布的富硒碳质岩层为硒中毒的发生提供了必要条件，当荒地开垦或开挖“石煤”等人类活动为自然硒的氧化和迁移提供充分条件时，硒中毒的发生仍将不可避免。     

西北地区东部降水的大气环流及水汽特征

基于西北地区东部81站1961—2010年夏季(6—8月)逐月降水资料和NCEP/NCAR再分析资料,利用距平合成分析,探讨其多雨年和少雨年逐月500 hPa高度场和700 hPa湿度场特征。结果表明:西北地区东部多雨年,影响降水的天气特征表现为乌拉尔山脊逐月偏强,7月鄂霍次克海脊偏强,贝加尔湖高压脊转为低槽,7月巴尔喀什湖低槽较6月偏强。8月贝加尔湖长波槽较7月偏强;少雨年天气系统表现为6—8月西北地区东部受高压脊前西北气流控制。西太平洋副热带高压(以下简称:副高)多雨年较少雨年偏西偏强。6—8月多(少)雨年比湿的变化表明,西北地区东部降水多雨年,大气的含水量较高,西北地区东部降水少雨年,大气的含水量较低。     

太湖湖盆冲击成因假说的演变及研究进展

本文的主要目的是回顾太湖湖盆成因假说,并重点介绍太湖湖盆冲击成因假说的研究历史,首先对各类太湖湖盆非冲击类成因假说做简单的介绍和评述,这些假说包括潟湖说、构造说、堰塞说、火山爆喷说及综合成因说,然后重点回顾太湖湖盆冲击成因假说的演变过程.太湖湖盆冲击成因假说的第一阶段在20 世纪 90 年代初,根据太湖地区砂岩中存在大量石英变形纹现象提出冲击假说,因认知不足,渐渐势微;第二阶段是 21 世纪初,太湖湖底淤泥层赋存大量奇特富铁质结核的新发现再次复兴了冲击假说,但太湖冲击坑确定的结论并不成熟,证据并不充分,遭到质疑;第三阶段自2012 年开始,认识到工作中的失误和冲击假说的难点,再次聚焦富铁质结核的矿物学成因及所处淤泥层位的沉积学特征研究,以此为基础提出了太湖空爆冲击成因假说.最新研究结果显示太湖存在一层含富铁质结核的泥质层;富铁质结核的形态和内部特征有可能提供太湖湖盆成因的相关信息.富铁质结核可能是湖盆形成初期时大水面下淤泥空隙沉积结核物,也可能是空爆气柱合成产物和回落物.太湖湖盆空爆成因假说研究具有非常重要的科学意义,值得深入研究.     

Solitary Wave Simulated by the Water Column Collapsing Method

China Ocean Engineering - Although solitary waves with large ratio of wave height to water depth are difficult to produce in laboratory settings by traditional wave generating methods, a water...