Photometric Follow-up Transit (Primary Eclipse) Observations of WASP-43 b and TrES-3b and A Study on Their Transit Timing Variations

Two photometric follow-up transit (primary eclipse) observations on WASP-43 b and four observations on TrES-3 b are performed using the Xuyi Near-Earth Object Survey Telescope. After differential photometry and light curve analysis, the physical parameters of the two systems are obtained and are in good match with the literature. Combining with transit data from a lot of literature, the residuals (O ? C) of transit observations of both systems are fitted with the linear and quadratic functions. With the linear fitting, the periods and transit timing variations (TTVs) of the planets are obtained, and no obvious periodic TTV signal is found in both systems after an analysis. The maximum mass of a perturbing planet located at the 1:2 mean motion resonance (MMR) for WASP-43 b and TrES-3 b is estimated to be 1.826 and 1.504 Earth mass, respectively. By quadratic fitting, it is confirmed that WASP-43 b may have a long-term TTV which means an orbital decay. The decay rate is shown to be P? = (?0.005248 ± 0.001714) s·yr^?1, and compared with the previous results. Based on this, the lower limit of the stellar tidal quality parameter of WASP-43 is calculated to be ${Q^{\prime }}_{*}\ge 1.5\times {10}^5$, and the remaining lifetimes of the planets are presented for the different ${Q^{\prime }}_{*}$ values of the two systems, correspondingly.     

东海PN断面透明胞外聚合颗粒物分布特征及来源研究

透明胞外聚合颗粒物（TEP）是凝聚网的重要组成部分甚至核心,在微尺度范围上形成了水环境结构的重要梯度,对于元素地球化学生物循环、碳沉降以及食物网有着举足轻重的作用。本文研究了东海典型断面PN透明胞外聚合颗粒物的分布特征及来源。结果表明:东海典型断面PN透明胞外聚合颗粒物含量介于28~376 μg Xeq./L之间,平均值为（115±67）μg Xeq./L;呈现出明显的夏季 > 冬季 > 秋季 > 春季的季节变化特征以及近岸 > 外海和底层 > 表层的分布趋势。通过对比透明胞外聚合颗粒物分布趋势和硅藻、甲藻分布趋势以及统计分析得出,东海典型断面PN透明胞外聚合颗粒物主要来源于硅藻,甲藻贡献不大;而外海TEP的来源可能主要由超微型浮游植物贡献。     

基于多源遥感数据的日本海内波特征研究

日本海特殊的地理位置和复杂的地形使得该海域内波表征极为复杂,遥感是大范围观测内波的有效手段,已被广泛应用于内波的探测研究。本文利用MODIS、GF-1和ENVISAT ASAR遥感影像,开展了日本海内波特征研究。通过提取内波波峰线,生成了日本海内波空间分布图;获取了内波的波峰线长度和传播速度,并基于非线性薛定谔方程反演了内波振幅。研究结果表明,日本海内波分布范围宽广,不仅大陆架沿海区内波分布密集,深海盆地也探测到了大量内波;日本海北部45°N附近海域有少量内波出现,利用高分影像探测到朝鲜陆架浅海区有大量小尺度内波,大和海盆、大和隆起的西南部海域没有发现内波。日本海内波波峰线长达100多千米,深海区的传播速度大于1 m/s;浅海区内波振幅约10 m左右,深海区可达60 m以上。     

超慢速扩张环境下超镁铁质岩系统的热液硫化物成矿机理以及启示

西南印度洋63.5°E热液区是在超慢速扩张洋脊发现的首个超镁铁质岩热液系统。对取自该区的热液硫化物样品进行了系统的矿物学和地球化学分析,矿物学分析结果表明:该热液区硫化物为富Fe型高温硫化物,且经历了较深程度的氧化蚀变,大量中间态的Fe氧化物充填在硫化物矿物间的孔隙及内部解理中;这些硫化物相以白铁矿为主,其次是等轴古巴矿和少量铜蓝,缺乏黄铁矿、闪锌矿。据推断,该区的热液成矿作用分为4个阶段:低温白铁矿阶段→高温等轴古巴矿阶段→自形白铁矿阶段→后期海底风化阶段（少量铜蓝以及大量的Fe的羟氧化物）。与之相对应,地球化学分析结果表明这些硫化物的Fe含量较高（31.57%~44.59%）,Cu含量次之（0.16%~7.24%）,而Zn含量普遍较低（0.01%~0.11%）;微量元素较为富集Co（328×10-6~2 400×10-6）和Mn（48.5×10-6~1 730×10-6）。该区硫化物中较高含量的Fe、Co与超镁铁质岩热液系统相似,明显高于镁铁质岩热液系统。独特的热液硫化物矿物学特征和元素组成可能与该区普遍出露的地幔岩、橄榄岩蛇纹石化作用以及拆离断层的广泛发育的环境有关。     

Geophysical Signature of the Shallow Water Flow in the Deepwater Basin of the Northern South China Sea

Shallow water flow (SWF), a disastrous geohazard in the continental margin, has threatened deepwater drilling operations. Under overpressure conditions, continual flow delivering unconsolidated sands upward in the shallow layer below the seafloor may cause large and long-lasting uncontrolled flows; these flows may lead to control problems and cause well damage and foundation failure. Eruptions from over-pressured sands may result in seafloor craters, mounds, and cracks. Detailed studies of 2D/3D seismic data from a slope basin of the South China Sea (SCS) indicated the potential presence of SWF. It is commonly characterized by lower elastic impedance, a higher Vp/Vs ratio, and a higher Poisson’s ratio than that for the surrounding sediments. Analysis of geological data indicated the SWF zone originated from a deepwater channel system with gas bearing over-pressured fluid flow and a high sedimentation rate. We proposed a fluid flow model for SWF that clearly identifies its stress and pressure changes. The rupture of previous SWF zones caused the fluid flow that occurred in the Baiyun Sag of the northern SCS.     

Leak-off mechanism and pressure prediction for shallow sediments in deepwater drilling

Deepwater sediments are prone to loss circulation in drilling due to a low overburden gradient. How to predict the magnitude of leak-off pressure more accurately is an important issue in the protection of drilling safety and the reduction of drilling cost in deep water. Starting from the mechanical properties of a shallow formation and based on the basic theory of rock-soil mechanics, the stress distribution around a borehole was analyzed. It was found that the rock or soil on a borehole is in the plastic yield state before the effective tensile stress is generated, and the effective tangential and vertical stresses increase as the drilling fluid density increases; thus, tensile failure will not occur on the borehole wall. Based on the results of stress calculation, two mechanisms and leak-off pressure prediction models for shallow sediments in deepwater drilling were put forward, and the calculated values of these models were compared with the measured value of shallow leak-off pressure in actual drilling. The results show that the MHPS (minimum horizontal principle stress) model and the FIF (fracturing in formation) model can predict the lower and upper limits of leak-off pressure. The PLC (permeable lost circulation) model can comprehensively analyze the factors influencing permeable leakage and provide a theoretical basis for leak-off prevention and plugging in deepwater drilling.     

Sex determination and differentiation in Aurelia sp.1: the absence of temperature dependence

Cnidarians, being regarded as ‘basal' metazoan animals, are considered to have relatively high plasticity in terms of sex reversal. In this study we used an experimental approach to demonstrate sexual diff erentiation and plasticity in benthic polyps and pelagic medusae of A urelia sp.1 maintained at dif ferent temperatures. Results indicated that in A urelia sp.1, sex diff erentiation has been determined at the polyp stage and that all medusae originating from a given polyp are, phenotypically, of the same sex. In addition, the sex of polyps budding from the same clone(either male or female) at dif ferent temperatures appears to be the same as that of the parent. The sex of medusae that had originated from a known-sex polyp was observed to remain the same as that of the parent, irrespective of differences in strobilation or rearing temperatures. These results indicate that the mechanism of sex determination of Aurelia sp.1. is not influenced by prevailing temperature regimes. A comparison of variability in terms of sexual plasticity of A urelia sp.1 with that of Hydrozoa and Anthozoa suggests that species characterized by a free-swimming medusa life stage have a high dispersal potential, which probably results in a lower rate of sex reversal.     

Effects of Anthropogenic Disturbance on Sediment Organic Carbon Mineralization Under Different Water Conditions in Coastal Wetland of a Subtropical Estuary

The changes in soil organic carbon(C) mineralization as affected by anthropogenic disturbance directly determine the role of soils as C source or sink in the global C budget. The objectives of this study were to investigate the effects of anthropogenic disturbance(aquaculture pond, pollutant discharge and agricultural activity) on soil organic C mineralization under different water conditions in the Minjiang River estuary wetland, Southeast China. The results showed that the organic C mineralization in the wetland soils was significantly affected by human disturbance and water conditions(P 0.001), and the interaction between human disturbance activities and water conditions was also significant(P 0.01). The C mineralization rate and the cumulative mineralized carbon dioxide-carbon(CO_2-C)(at the 49th day) ranked from highest to lowest as follows: Phragmites australis wetland soil aquaculture pond sediment soil near the discharge outlet rice paddy soil. This indicated that human disturbance inhibited the mineralization of C in soils of the Minjiang River estuary wetland, and the inhibition increased with the intensity of human disturbance. The data for cumulative mineralized CO_2-C showed a good fit(R~2 0.91) to the first-order kinetic model C_t = C_0(1 – exp(–kt)). The kinetic parameters C_0, k and C_0 k were significantly affected by human disturbance and water conditions. In addition, the total amount of mineralized C(in 49 d) was positively related to C_0, C_0 k and electrical conductivity of soils. These findings indicated that anthropogenic disturbance suppressed the organic C mineralization potential in subtropical coastal wetland soils, and changes of water pattern as affected by human activities in the future would have a strong influence on C cycling in the subtropical estuarine wetlands.     

Immunohistochemical identification of dynorphin A and Kappa opioid receptor-1 in the digestive system of scallop Chlamys farreri

Journal of Oceanology and Limnology - Little is known about the roles of dynorphin and Kappa opioid receptor (KOR) in mollusks. In this study, we aim to determine the distribution of dynorphin A...     

Hydrological Processes in the Huaihe River Basin,China: Seasonal Variations,Causes and Implications

Understanding streamflow changes in terms of trends and periodicities and relevant causes is the first step into scientific management of water resources in a changing environment. In this study, monthly streamflow variations were analyzed using Modified Mann-Kendall(MM-K) trend test and Continuous Wavelet Transform(CWT) methods at 9 hydrological stations in the Huaihe River Basin. It was found that: 1) streamflow mainly occurs during May to September, accounting for 70.4% of the annual total streamflowamount with Cv values between 0.16–0.85 and extremum ratio values between 1.70–23.90; 2) decreased streamflow can be observed in the Huaihe River Basin and significant decreased streamflow can be detected during April and May, which should be the results of precipitation change and increased irrigation demand; 3) significant periods of 2–4 yr were detected during the 1960 s, the 1980 s and the 2000 s. Different periods were found at stations concentrated within certain regions implying periods of streamflow were caused by different influencing factors for specific regions; 4) Pacific Decadal Oscillation(PDO) has the most significant impacts on monthly streamflow mainly during June. Besides, Southern Oscillation Index(SOI), North Atlantic Oscillation(NAO) and the Ni?o3.4 Sea Surface Temperature(Ni?o3.4) have impacts on monthly streamflow with three months lags, and was less significant in time lag of six months. Identification of critical climatic factors having impacts on streamflow changes can help to predict monthly streamflow changes using climatic factors as explanatory variables. These findings were well corroborated by results concerning impacts of El Nino-Southern Oscillation(ENSO) regimes on precipitation events across the Huaihe River Basin. The results of this study can provide theoretical background for basin-scale management of water resources and agricultural irrigation.