Introducing a transferable fishing day management regime for Pacific Island countries

On 1 December 2007, eight ‘Small Island Developing States’ in the Western and Central Pacific Ocean implemented a management regime restricting the total number of days fished by tuna purse seine vessels within their waters, commonly referred to as the Vessel Day Scheme (VDS). The VDS is seen as one component of management arrangements to reduce fishing mortality on bigeye and yellowfin tuna, constrain fishing effort, and increase the rate of return from access fees by Distant Water Fishing Nations.     

Variability of temperature,salinity and tidally‐averaged density in the middle estuary of the St Lawrence

Abstract

Surveys in the Middle Estuary of the St Lawrence have yielded a data base consisting of more than 15,000 T‐S pairs distributed over 62 13‐h profiling stations. Although the T‐S curves at each station are remarkably linear, the variability of the slopes and intercepts of the lines is considerable. The means and standard deviations of the temperature and salinity at each individual station are not explicable in terms of linear combinations of the parameters for location in the Estuary, the upstream water properties, the phase of the spring‐neap cycle and the tidal energies.

It is shown that the tidally‐averaged density structure is separable into horizontal and vertical components and that its vertical variation over the whole Estuary may be explained by any one of three different functional forms. However, its horizontal variation is not explicable in terms of linear combinations of the parameters mentioned in the paragraph above.

Plots of the horizontal variations in temperature, salinity or density may only be meaningful if the data are collected synoptically, and even then cannot be considered to be accurate over time‐scales longer than one tidal cycle.     

Effects of commercial timber harvesting on streamflow regimes in the Plynlimon catchments,mid‐Wales

This paper presents the first large‐scale British study of the impacts of commercial forest cutting on stream‐flow regimes. The 70% forested headwaters of the River Severn are part of the intensively instrumented long‐term Plynlimon catchment study into the impact of land use on stream flow. The forest area, comprising predominantly Sitka spruce (Picea sitchensis), was planted mainly in the 1930s and 1940s. Harvesting commenced in the mid‐1980s and over the study period about half the forest has been felled. Changes in annual water yield and extreme flows were studied in four nested catchments ranging in area from about 1 to 10 km² and compared with an adjacent benchmark grassland catchment. As expected from earlier process studies the cutting of the forest increased total annual flows. Less expected was the clear evidence that the felling augmented low flows. This informs a long‐standing debate whether upland forestry increases or reduces baseflows. A particularly notable result was the lack of impact of the harvesting on storm peak flows. This may result from the application of forest management guidelines designed to reduce soil damage and erosion during the harvesting, and indicates that the forest itself has a limited impact on flooding. These findings are timely because British forest expansion peaked in the 30 years following the Second World War, and large areas of these woodlands are now approaching economic maturity and will be harvested in the next two decades. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Seismic stability analysis of piled embankments: A multiphase approach

The seismic stability analysis of an embankment lying over a soft foundation soil reinforced by a group of vertical piles is performed within the framework of the upper bound kinematic approach of yield design. The analysis is based on a previously developed ‘multiphase’ model of the reinforced ground, which explicitly accounts for the shear and bending resistances of the piles. Making use of appropriate failure mechanisms involving shear zones across which the reinforcements are continuously deforming, along with ‘plastic hinge’ surfaces, upper bound estimates to the critical seismic coefficient of the structure are derived. The results, which are confirmed by the simulations obtained from a finite element elastoplastic code, give clear evidence of the key role played by the bending strength capacities of the piles in ensuring the stability of the pile reinforced embankment. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Effects of Drought on Winter Wheat Yield in North China During 2012-2100

Winter wheat is one of China's most important staple food crops, and its production is strongly influenced by weather, especially droughts. As a result, the impact of drought on the production of winter wheat is associated with the food security of China. Simulations of future climate for scenarios A2 and A1B provided by GFDL_CM2, MPI_ECHAM5, MRI_CGCM2, NCAR_CCSM3, and UKMO_HADCM3 during 2001- 2100 are used to project the influence of drought on winter wheat yields in North China. Winter wheat yields are simulated using the crop model WOFOST (WOrld FOod STudies). Future changes in temperature and precipitation are analyzed. Temperature is projected to increase by 3.9-5.5℃ ? for scenario A2 and by 2.9-5.1℃ ? for scenario A1B, with fairly large interannual variability. Mean precipitation during the growing season is projected to increase by 16.7 and 8.6 mm (10 yr)-1, with spring precipitation increasing by 9.3 and 4.8 mm (10 yr)-1 from 2012-2100 for scenarios A2 and A1B, respectively. For the next 10-30 years (2012- 2040), neither the growing season precipitation nor the spring precipitation over North China is projected to increase by either scenario. Assuming constant winter wheat varieties and agricultural practices, the influence of drought induced by short rain on winter wheat yields in North China is simulated using the WOFOST crop model. The drought index is projected to decrease by 9.7% according to scenario A2 and by 10.3% according to scenario A1B during 2012-2100. This indicates that the drought influence on winter wheat yields may be relieved over that period by projected increases in rain and temperature as well as changes in the growth stage of winter wheat. However, drought may be more severe in the near future, as indicated by the results for the next 10-30 years.     

The application of uranium series disequilibrium concepts to sediment yield determination

The determination of uranium series disequilibria in fluvial environments is proposed as a method of calculating catchment mass balances. The technique is based on two main principles. Firstly, ²³⁴U is more mobile than ²³⁸U, especially during the early stages of weathering. Secondly, uranium is far more mobile than either thorium or protactinium. Consequently, teaching during weathering results in the loss of the uranium found in the fresh rock, leaving the two immobile daughters behind. The ratio of uranium carried by sediment to that dissolved, U_S/U_W can, therefore, be determined from river water and sediment isotopic activity ratios. Fluxes of uranium can then be calculated from average concentrations in the water and the associated sediment, from which a sediment yield can be inferred. The Witham catchment in Lincolnshire has been used to test the proposed method. A U_S/U_W ratio of between 5 and 7 is determined and a sediment yield of 2.51 ± 2.12 tonnes yr^?1 km^?2 is proposed. Although some problems concerning environmental chemistry have arisen, the validity of the approach is confirmed by the close correspondence between the results obtained and those inferred by earlier workers using more conventional methods.     

Continental size,eustasy and sediment yield

Sediment yield from modern continental blocks is a function of the area (dissolved load) and hypsometry (mechanical load) of the blocks. Hypsographic curves for modern continental blocks show that the change in the percentage area flooded for any change in eustatic sea level depends on the size of the block and the absolute sea level. This allows predictions of changes in sediment yield around different sized blocks for any given eustatic change. The range in size of continental blocks is such that, for any given sea level change, the blocks will show different percentage changes in yield. Data from modern continental blocks are compared with theoretical results. Assuming that the rules governing modern hypsometries applied in the past, and a constant volume of continental crust, it is possible to estimate the hypsographic curves of former continental blocks. The implications of suggested past continental configurations and sea levels for sediment yield are discussed.     

非充分灌溉制度设计优化模型

研究了缺水地区冬小麦灌溉问题.分析了作物模型,作物水分影响函数,并以农作物产量最大为目标,提出了非充分灌溉制度优化设计二维动态规划模型和相应的动态规划逐次逼近(DPSA)求解方法.针对山东省临沂市小埠东灌区的实际情况进行研究,求得了冬小麦三个典型年不同供水水平的最优灌溉制度、排水过程及相应产量.实例表明,模型及方法是合理的.     

潜水延迟给水理论模型探讨

基于对失饱和带毛管与潜水流间交互作用的分析，提出了以“失水带迟后反应”模式计算延迟给水下的定降深流动①的成因方法。它能自然地解释水位、水头的Ｗａｌｔｏｎ三阶段演变规律，且拟合实测资料，具较强实用性。现行的纽曼代表性模型未能考虑延迟给水作用，因而其水位计算结果与实测线型相反．博尔顿法是经验性的，未予揭示该现象成因。本法基本上解决了上述问题。文后图示了各参变量对水头时空分布的影响。验算表明，将本法用于潜水出流试验推求含水层参数，可获更佳结果。