Hillslope gullying in the Solway Firth — Morecambe Bay region, Great Britain: Responses to human impact and/or climatic deterioration?

In the Solway Firth — Morecambe Bay region of Great Britain there is evidence for heightened hillslope instability during the late Holocene (after 3000 cal. BP). Little or no hillslope geomorphic activity has been identified occurring during the early Holocene, but there is abundant evidence for late Holocene hillslope erosion (gullying) and associated alluvial fan and valley floor deposition. Interpretation of the regional radiocarbon chronology available from organic matter buried beneath alluvial fan units suggests much of this geomorphic activity can be attributed to four phases of more extensive gullying identified after 2500–2200, 1300–1000, 1000–800 and 500 cal. BP. Both climate and human impact models can be evoked to explain the crossing of geomorphic thresholds: and palaeoecological data on climatic change (bog surface wetness) and human impact (pollen), together with archaeological and documentary evidence of landscape history, provide a context for addressing the causes of late Holocene geomorphic instability. High magnitude storm events are the primary agent responsible for gully incision, but neither such events nor cooler/wetter climatic episodes appear to have produced gully systems in the region before 3000 cal. BP. Increased gullying after 2500–2200 cal. BP coincides with population expansion during Iron Age and Romano-British times. The widespread and extensive gullying after 1300–1000 cal. BP and after 1000–800 cal. BP coincides with periods of population expansion and a growing rural economy identified during Norse times, 9–10th centuries AD, and during the Medieval Period, 12–13th centuries AD. These periods were separated by a downturn associated with the ‘harrying of the north’ AD 1069 to 1070. The gullying episode after 500 cal. BP also coincides with increased anthropogenic pressure on the uplands, with population growth and agricultural expansion after AD 1500 following 150 years of malaise caused by livestock and human (the Black Death) plagues, poor harvests and conflicts on the Scottish/English border. The increased susceptibility to erosion of gullies is a response to increased anthropogenic pressure on upland hillslopes during the late Holocene, and the role of this pressure appears crucial in priming hillslopes before subsequent major storm events. In particular, the cycles of expansion and contraction in both population and agriculture appear to have affected the susceptibility of the upland landscape to erosion, and the hillslope gullying record in the region, therefore, contributes to understanding of the timing and spatial pattern of human exploitation of the upland landscape.     

广东大亚湾石珊瑚群落的分布及动态变化

2006年6月对位于南海北部亚热带的大亚湾和大鹏湾石珊瑚群落的分布、种类和覆盖率进行了调查,结果显示大亚湾共有石珊瑚24种,以秘密角蜂巢珊瑚(Favites abdita)为优势种,总覆盖率为20%,大鹏湾有石珊瑚21种,以精巧扁脑珊瑚(Platygyra daedalea)为优势种,总覆盖率为7.9%。大亚湾石珊瑚群落健康状况良好,但生长稀疏,群落密度低,空间结构简单,生长带窄;与1964年、1983年、1984年和1991年的调查结果相比,覆盖率从76.6%下降到20%,优势种从枝状的霜鹿角珊瑚(Acropora Pruinosa)转变成块状或皮壳状的秘密角蜂巢珊瑚,群落生态退化严重,主要原因可能是人为破坏活动对珊瑚本身以及生长环境造成的压力所致,包括过度捕捞、盗采珊瑚、沿岸施工和水体污染等,建议采取相应的保护措施。     

Holocene development and anthropogenic disturbance of a shallow lake system in Central Ireland recorded by diatoms

Three cores from two connected lakes in Central Ireland (Lough Kinale and Derragh Lough) were investigated using diatom analysis to establish the Holocene development of the lacustrine system, any local variations within the lakes and any anthropogenic influences. The study area was situated in a lowland location and the lakes were shallow, unstratified and interconnected. Litho-and bio-stratigraphical analyses of the lake cores and deposits beneath a mire separating the two lakes showed the changing spatial configuration of the lake system in the early Holocene and the separation of the initial lake into three basins (cf. lacustrine cells) and finally into two interlinked lakes. The evolution of the lake system is conceptualised as the development of distinct lacustrine cells, and its sediments have recorded changes in the physical (geography, depth and sedimentation) and chemical (water chemistry) properties of the lakes inferred through diatom analyses. The longest sequence, from the early Holocene, records fluctuating lake levels and these are correlated with geomorphological mapping and surveying of palaeoshorelines. The diatom assemblages of the upper 2 m of the three cores, covering approximately the last 2000–3000 radiocarbon years show considerable difference in trophic status and life-form categories. This is related to the location of the cores in the lake and also the distance from human settlement with particular reference to proximity to crannog (artificial island) construction and use. The most central core from the deepest part of Lough Kinale has the least representation of the human settlement and agricultural activity in the catchment and on the fringes of the lake, whereas the core taken from the edge of a crannog is able to identify when construction and use of the crannog occurred. The local nature of the palaeoecological response to human activity due to incomplete water mixing has the advantage of allowing the lake sediment cores to be used to determine spatially discrete settlement patterns.     

Paleolimnological assessment of human impacts on an urban South African lake

North End Lake is a polluted and eutrophic freshwater system located in Port Elizabeth, South Africa. Since the lake is expected to be used for recreational/tourist purposes by 2010, a rehabilitation program will have to be designed. For this reason, we retrieved a sediment core from the central region of the lake to decipher the effect of historical human impacts on the water body. Pre-disturbance paleolimnological inferences indicate that the lake was likely mesotrophic. After ∼1831, when sheep farming activities were undertaken in the catchment, increases in trophic state and changes in sediment composition were observed. After ∼1937, increases in trace metal levels, organic matter, spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCP) and changes in sediment composition were recorded. The system became eutrophic as indicated by the dominance of the diatom Actinocyclus normanii, a cosmopolitan species often observed in systems where water quality has been dramatically degraded. The conditions worsened after 1986 because of the construction of a storm-water retention system, which intentionally channeled storm-water runoff into the lake. Because of this, extremely high values of fecal coliforms (i.e. 2 × 10⁶ every 100 ml) have been measured in the water column. The paleolimnological information identified the sharp increase in organic content in the uppermost section of the core, and this could be correlated to the operation of the storm-water retention system. Therefore, as an immediate management measure, we suggest that the storm-water retention system should either no longer be utilized, or the storm-water runoff should be treated before disposal into the lake. In addition, an effective sewage system has to be constructed.     

旅游活动中和谐客我关系研究

旅游原本是在和谐的审美过程中亲近自然、获得美感并得到人性抚慰和心灵小憩的活动,是通过人与自然的互动和人际之间的交往去追求和实现和谐的一种途径和方式.而现实的旅游活动却并不尽如人意,反映出客我之间的误解、互相轻视、缺乏合作甚至矛盾冲突等不和谐之音.从心理学角度分析了旅游活动中人际关系不和谐的现象及影响客我关系的因素和过程.通过对人们的社会知觉、自我认知偏差、交流和沟通等心理过程以及对客我关系实质的分析,提出建立和谐客我关系的条件是服务、沟通、理解与合作,最后探讨了建立和谐客我关系的对策.     

西藏地热气体的地球化学特征及其地质意义

西藏水热活动是青苦恼高原碰撞造山过程的产物，其成因类型、物质来源和时空分布与青藏高原的隆升过程密切相关，地热流体（气、液相）中携带有中上地壳乃至地幔物质的深部信息。西藏地热流体可以区分出CO2型和N2型两类气体，其中绝大多数的地热气体样品属于CO2型气体，而典型的N2型气体则较少。前者具有岩浆热源和深循环两种成因类型，后者都是深循环成因。西藏气体样品中的He含量变化范围非常宽，最高的可达到1．5％。在门士热泉，首次检测到地幔He组分，这说明西藏地壳深处有地幔物质侵位。根据He同位素组成推断，羊八井、谷露等处的地壳熔融体中约有3％的地幔组分。西藏地热气体中的N2和Ar组分主要是大气成因，CO2组分大多以海相碳酸盐岩成因为主，混有少量有机沉积物成因CO2。当Log(H2/Ar)处于－0．8－0．3的区间时，H2／Ar地热温度计可以良好地指示热储层的温度范围。实际调查表明：西藏水热活动区大多分布在斑公错－怒江链合带以南地区，高温水热活动区主要出现在雅鲁藏布缝合带和那曲－羊八井－亚东活动构造带沿线。     

人类起源研究回顾与中国古人类学展望

根据对人类起源研究的回顾和对我国人类进化概况的认识，将我国古人类学研究推向更高的境界的首要任务是找到新的比较完整的化石和有关材料，关键之举是高水平的创新研究，发现和综合考量蕴藏在其中的各种信息，因此在新的世纪，必须大力进行野外调查，发现更多人类化石和旧石器以及有关的材料，进行深入的形态学和考古学研究，还要寻求人类古生物学与分子生物学在人类起源与进化研究方面的协调，构建更加坚实的我国古人类年龄框架，适当地进行我国古环境与人类关系的研究。     

泥河湾层的研究现状和展望

泥河湾层是我国北方著名的第四纪河湖相地层,它以巨厚的沉积、丰富的哺乳动物化石和人类遗存为世人所瞩目.经过几代人近80年的努力,泥河湾层在地层学、古生物学、沉积学、古地理学和古人类学等方面的研究上都取得了丰硕的成果,被誉为我国研究程度最高的第四纪地层之一.近年来,随着第四纪学科的发展和全球变化研究的深入,加大泥河湾层研究力度,提高"泥河湾层”研究水平的呼声日趋高涨.预计在新的世纪,泥河湾层研究将成为我国第四纪工作的热点,它将对第四纪科学和全球变化研究做出重大的贡献.     

郯庐断裂带的伸展活动及其动力学背景

郯庐断裂带的伸展活动发生于晚白垩世至早第三纪,控制形成了-系列断陷盆地.安徽段的断陷出现在晚白垩世至早第三纪,苏鲁段仅发生于晚白垩世,而山东潍坊以北的断陷皆出现在早第三纪,显示了伸展活动南早北晚的迁移规律.这一伸展活动叠加在前期走滑构造之上,呈现为幕式的正断层运动.现可鉴别出断裂带的伸展活动经历过5次显著的断陷事件.郯庐断裂带的伸展构造多不同于典型的裂谷.它与中国东部同期一系列伸展盆地形成的动力学背景一致,是太平洋板块向西正面高角度俯冲下、中国东部岩石圈上拱中出现的巨型伸展构造.     

城市边缘区景观变化与人为影响的空间分异研究

利用1988、1993、1998年的遥感影像，应用最大似然法和概率松弛法对马山景观组分进行了测量，在此基础上，对分类结果进行比较求得研究区景观变化的转移短也阵，分析了人为改造活动与景观组分之间的对应关系和空间变化过程，马山区已经从1988年的传统农业景观转化为1998年的城郊混合景观，人口、经济、产业结构均发生了巨大变化，借助人为影响指数，利用网格采样和地统计学分析，研究了马山1988-1998年间景观的人为开发利用活动，揭示人为活动的空间变异强度分布及景观转变过程的社会驱动力。