Cambrian explosion: Birth of tree of animals

Excluding the sponges the Kingdom Animalia is usually divided into three subkingdoms: Diploblasta, Protostomia and Deuterostomia. The Cambrian Explosion consists of three major episodes, two of which were in the early Early Cambrian (one represented by the small skeletal fossils “SSFs” at the base of the Cambrian and the other represented by the succeeding Chengjiang faunas “CFs”), and the other episode as their prelude took place in the “Eocambrian” (i.e. the latest Precambrian), represented by the Ediacaran faunas. This unique Big Bang of life has been recognized as giving birth to the entire morphological Tree Of Animals (or metazoans), in short the TOA. Its “seed” in the deep Precambrian, represented by some sort of protist from which the complete TOA must have grown, remains unknown paleontologically. However, the fossil evidence suggests that the three major episodes of the Cambrian Explosion are responsible for the earliest radiations of the three subkingdoms of animals respectively. While the observed Ediacaran fauna might constitute only a small part of the whole Ediacaran biota, our evidence supports that it was dominated by diploblasts (the “trunk” of the TOA) with only a few possible stem-group triploblasts. The Early Cambrian in turn in two phases explosively yielded almost all the major triploblastic crown-branches (Bilateria: the huge “crown” of the TOA), which include the other two subkingdoms: first the extremely diverse protostomes in the Meishucunian Age and then followed by a nearly entire lineage of early deuterostomes from the Chengjiang, including even its most derived member – the earliest true vertebrates. Among the four most significant milestones of morphological origins and radiations in animal history, the first one (i.e. appearance of metazoans) took place in the Ediacaran Period or earlier times, and the other three can be seen in the windows available from the Chengjiang and the Meishucunian fossil assemblages. The newly discovered extinct Phylum Vetulicolia, which has primitively segmented body with simple gill slits in its anterior division, most probably represents one of the roots of the deuterostome subkingdom. Showing a mosaic of basic features possessed in both the bilateral vetulicolians and some primitive echinoderms, the soft-bodied vetulocystids are best regarded as one of the roots of the extant pentamerous echinoderms. Standing on the “top” of the deuterostome super-branch in the early Cambrian TOA are the “the first fish” Myllokunmingia and Haikouichthys, which bear paired eyes and salient proto-vertebrae. These animals represent the real root of the remainder of the vertebrates or craniates. On the contrary, yunnanozoans, including Yunnanozoon and Haikouella, possess neither eyes nor unequivocal vertebrae, and may have nothing to do with the craniates, let alone the vertebrates. Those enigmatic creatures share a similar body-plan with vetulicolians and should be treated as a side-branch within the lower deuterostomes.     

地下水化学组成的时空聚类分析与多级嵌套水流系统识别

水文地球化学是识别地下水流系统的重要方法,然而区域尺度上多级嵌套地下水流系统的复杂性使地下水化学组成的分析和解释难度增加.以鄂尔多斯北部盆地湖泊集中区典型的胡同察汗淖地下水流系统为例,基于丰水期和枯水期3个期次不同深度地下水样品的物理化学数据,应用时空聚类与主成分分析方法,揭示地下水化学组成的空间分布特征、变化规律及其...     

全球百年海表面温度年际和年代际变化特征分析

利用100 a(1903—2002年)HadiSST的逐月资料,将全球海表面温度异常(SSTA)作为整体进行经验正交函数分解(EOF分解),提取了控制各大洋SSTA的主导模态和各大洋之间的联合模态,分析了相应的空间分布和时间序列。研究结果表明:SSTA变化最剧烈的海区是赤道中东太平洋、西北大西洋湾流海区和北太平洋黑潮延伸体海区。热带太平洋厄尔尼诺和南方涛动是主导模态并具有2~7 a周期的年际变化;SSTA变化第二主模态和第三主模态都是以大约70 a为周期的年代际变化为主的跨大洋联合模态。第二主模态的空间分布主要表现为中纬度北太平洋和北大西洋反位相、热带太平洋与大西洋反位相的太平洋-大西洋双偶极子型分布。SSTA变化的第三模态主要呈现南北半球海洋反位相的特征,为北太平洋-北大西洋-南大洋联合模态。第四模态基本上是反映各个不同海域特有的局地海洋-大气相互作用模态,该模态的时间序列具有1~4 a周期的年际变化和约9 a周期的年代际变化。     

冻融循环对盐渍土黏聚力影响的试验研究

通过室内试验,测试了冻融循环对不同含盐量和不同含盐类别盐渍土黏聚力的影响规律。从结晶体位置变化、微观结构、盐类性质及未冻结水含量三个方面分析了冻融循环对盐渍土黏聚力的作用机理。研究结果表明,在含水率一定的情况下,无论是向土中加入Na2SO4,或者是CaCl2,经冻融循环后黏聚力都随冻融次数的增加而减小,且第1次和第2次循环为主要减小阶段;加入CaCl2后黏聚力的减小程度比加入等量Na2SO4后小;冻融循环过程中结晶体析出时位置的变化是土体黏聚力和干密度减小的主要原因;经SEM图片分析,大孔隙占总孔隙面积的比例随冻融次数的增加而减小;盐渍土中CaCl2溶液的含量对冻融循环中黏聚力的变化有重要影响。     

Message from the Editor-in-Chief

正Dear Authors and Readers:First of all,on behalf of the new Editorial Board,I would like to express our sincere appreciation for your continuing support of our journal.This journal,founded in 1922,is the oldest geological journal in China.As the flagship journal of the Geological Society of China,it has become more and more influential in earth sciences in China and beyond.The journal is now indexed by SCI,CA and more than 20 other databases,with an impact     

江苏大丰潮滩悬沙级配特征及其动力响应

根据2002和2003年夏季在江苏大丰潮滩的现场观测资料,详细分析了悬沙级配的时空分布特征、影响因素及其对再悬浮、沉降和流速的响应.研究结果表明,悬沙颗粒较细,以粉砂为主,悬沙级配在潮周期内的变化模式有两种类型:一是稳定型,悬沙级配的时空(垂向和平面)变化很小;二是双峰型,悬沙级配的时空变化显著,粗细峰高度不断变化.再悬浮、沉降、涨潮时输入潮滩的悬沙和底质级配是影响悬沙级配的重要因子.再悬浮使粗颗粒悬沙的含量增加,悬沙与底质级配不断接近,沉降对悬沙级配的影响与再悬浮相反.再悬浮发生时悬沙级配对流速有明显响应.在没有再悬浮和沉降影响的情况下,潮滩不同部位、不同时间的悬沙级配趋于稳定和相同,对这种状态下的悬沙级配可称为背景悬沙级配,大丰潮滩背景悬沙级配的平均粒径为7μm.     

关于土地资源质量

本文在阐述土地资源质量概念的基础上,结合相关学科理论,重点论述了反映土地资源质量的两方面内容;一是空间形态特征,包括起伏量、坡度、坡长、坡形及侵蚀和沉积程度;二是物质特征,包括土体构型、结构质地、物理性质、物质组分、化学性质以及生态功能等     

Variations of b‐values at the western edge of the Ryukyu Subduction Zone,north‐east Taiwan

Using earthquakes relocated in north‐east Taiwan, we estimated b‐value distribution along a cross‐section located near the Ryukyu slab edge, and four b‐value anomalous areas are evidenced: (1) a high b‐value body lying on top of a low Vp, low Vs and high Vp/Vs sausage‐like body was considered as a region of enhanced partial melt or water supply above which seismicity occurs; (2) beneath the Ilan Plain, an anomalous area characterized by b‐values slightly higher than 1.1 might give evidence to the magma conduits to the Kueishantao Island; (3) above the Ryukyu Wadati‐Benioff zone, at depths ranging from 90 to 110 km, a high b‐value anomaly might correspond to the depth where dehydration occurs in the subducting oceanic plate; and (4) a low b‐value area located within the Ryukyu slab, at depths ranging from 70 to 90 km, might be linked to the compressive mechanisms shown by focal mechanisms and the bending of the subducting plate.     

Stellar and HI Mass Functions Predicted by a Simple Preheating Galaxy Formation Model

According to the new preheating mechanism of galaxy formation suggested by Mo et al., we construct a simple model of formation of disk galaxies within the current paradigm of galaxy formation. It incorporates preheating, gas cooling, bulge formation and star for-mation. The predicted stellar and HI mass functions of galaxies are discussed and compared with the observations. It is found that our model can roughly match both the observed galaxy luminosity function and the observed HI-mass function.     

A complex variable solution for stress and displacement field around a lined circular tunnel at great depth

By applying the series expansion technique in the complex variable method established by Muskhelishvili, the plane elasticity problem for the stress and displacement field around a lined circular tunnel in conjunction with the consideration of misfit and interaction between the liner and the surrounding geomaterial is dealt with. The tunnel is assumed to be driven in a homogeneous and isotropic geomaterial. The coefficients in the Laurent series expansion of the stress functions are determined. The complex potentials in the liner and the surrounding geomaterial are explicitly derived, respectively. As an example, the case of a lined circular tunnel located in an isotropic initial stress field but subjected to uniform internal pressure is numerically considered. Numerical results indicate that the installation of tunnel liner can reduce the influences of the tunnel excavation on the in situ displacement and stress fields. However, the relative thickness and rigidity of the liner should be in an appropriate range. In addition, the effect of the tunnel excavation upon the displacement field is more significant than that upon the stress field. As far as the stress field in the surrounding geomaterial is concerned, when the ratio between the cover depth of tunnel and the tunnel radius is larger than 5, the results for the stress field in the paper are applicable. When the ratio between the tunnel depth and the tunnel radius is larger than 20, the results are applicable for the displacement field. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.