A rationale for beach selection by the public on the coast of Wales, UK

Questionnaires were completed by 2306 beach users at 19 Welsh beaches with respect to beach selection parameters. The modal group of respondents was female aged 30–39. Beach choice was primarily determined by clean litter-free sand and seawater, followed by safety. Refreshment facilities and beach awards were deemed minor considerations by the public when choosing a beach to visit. Approximately 58 per cent of respondents were aware of beach award and rating schemes. Of coastal visitors interviewed for this paper, 67 per cent rated a beach as 'important' or 'very important' to their holiday, with just 2 per cent replying that they were unimportant.     

History and necessity: the evolution of soil conservation technology in a Jamaican farming system

The soil conservation campaigns that have been a prominent feature of Jamaican agricultural policy since the 1950s are frequently presented as having failed to ameliorate the problem of soil erosion in hillside agriculture. A case study of a small farming community in the Blue Mountains explores the development of the soil conservation practices currently employed by farmers. The use of trash barriers in carrot farming is described and the origins of this technology and its subsequent adaptation are considered. The study concludes that extension interventions and government policy have influenced the development of current soil conservation practices; practices which have their roots in indigenous techniques. Other factors such as the adaptation of trash barriers to suit local conditions and their importance in soil fertility management also play a role in their widespread use in the study area. The study demonstrates that to understand the process of technical change in farming communities, it is necessary to consider a range of factors, external and internal, technical and social, that have over time influenced farmers' decision making.     

Hydrologic responses to land cover change: the case of Jedeb mesoscale catchment,Abay/Upper Blue Nile basin,Ethiopia

The objective of this study was to quantify the impacts of land use/land cover (LULC) change on the hydrology of the Jedeb, an agricultural dominated mesoscale catchment, in the Abay/Upper Blue Nile basin, Ethiopia. Two methods have been used. First, the trends of certain daily flow variability parameters were evaluated to detect statistical significance of the change of the hydrologic response. Second, a conceptual monthly hydrological model was used to detect changes in the model parameters over different periods to infer LULC change. The results from the statistical analysis of the daily flows between 1973 and 2010 reveal a significant change in the response of the catchment. Peak flow is enhanced, i.e. response appears to be flashier. There is a significant increase in the rise and fall rates of the flow hydrograph, as well as the number of low‐flow pulses below a threshold level. The discharge pulses show a declining duration with time. The model result depicts a change in model parameters over different periods, which could be attributed to an LULC change. The model parameters representing soil moisture conditions indicated a gradual decreasing trend, implying limited storage capacity likely attributed to increasing agricultural farming practices in the catchment. This resulted in more surface runoff and less infiltration into the soil layers. The results of the monthly flow duration curve analysis indicated large changes of the flow regime. The high flow has increased by 45% between the 1990s and 2000s, whereas the reduction in low flows was larger: a 15% decrease between 1970s and 1980s, 39% between 1980s and 1990s and up to 71% between 1990s and 2000s. These results, could guide informed catchment management practices to reduce surface runoff and augment soil moisture level in the Jedeb catchment. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Ecosystem services assessment and compensation costs for installing seaweed farms

In a global context of promotion and expansion of blue growth initiatives, the development of activities such as aquaculture calls for the assessment of the potential impacts on biodiversity at different levels and associated services. This paper presents an assessment of the potential impact of the installation of seaweed farms on ecosystem services and the induced compensation costs. Biophysical and socioeconomic indicators have been developed for helping decision makers to select the most suitable locations. The approach considers a multi-criteria approach based on Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Habitat Equivalency Analysis (HEA). The former is used to obtain biophysical ecosystem services and socioeconomic indicators and the latter to evaluate the costs required to compensate the loss of cultural and provisioning ecosystem services. A case-study in the Normand-Breton (Saint Malo) Gulf, France, illustrates this method through the analysis of hypothetical locations of seaweed farms. Results highlight the differences between alternative locations regarding biophysical constraints (in terms of distance and depth), potential risks of conflicts with existing uses, impacts on habitats and the ecosystem services delivered, and compensation costs. This case-study illustrates the flexibility of this approach which can be further adapted to include other indicators in order to deliver integrated information to coastal planners.     

A Rhaetian microvertebrate fauna from Stowey Quarry,Somerset, U.K.

Rhaetian bone beds have been described from many locations in south-west England, around Bristol. One site that has never been reported is Stowey Quarry, some 13?km south of Bristol. This quarry yielded Lias, and revealed thin Rhaetian units in the quarry floor, including two bone beds, the basal Rhaetian bone bed, and a second, higher bone bed, also within the Westbury Formation. The fossil fauna of both includes elements typical of Rhaetian bone beds elsewhere, but showing differences in faunal composition between the two. The basal bone bed yielded more specimens and more species, with three taxa (Sargodon tomicus, Rhomphaiodon minor and Hybodus cloacinus) exclusive to this bed and eleven identified in total. Severnichthys acuminatus accounts for more than 50% of the countable teeth from the basal bone bed, followed by Gyrolepis albertii with 20%, Lissodus minimus with 14% and Rhomphaiodon minor with 9%. The basal bone bed, as ever, is dominated by chondrichthyans, whereas the upper bone bed is dominated by osteichthyans, which form 90% of the non-dental remains. The only unique taxon is Dapedium, and Gyrolepis albertii is the most abundant species with 45% of countable teeth, followed by Severnichthys acuminatus with 38% and Duffinselache holwellensis with 11%. These faunal differences, and the equally good condition of specimens between both samples confirms that the upper bone bed is independent of the basal bone bed, and is not a reworked subsample.     

VELOCITY–DISCHARGE RELATIONSHIPS DERIVED FROM DYE TRACER EXPERIMENTS IN GLACIAL MELTWATERS: IMPLICATIONS FOR SUBGLACIAL FLOW CONDITIONS

Repeated dye tracer tests were undertaken from individual moulins at Haut Glacier d'Arolla, Switzerland, over a number of diurnal discharge cycles during the summers of 1989–1991. It was hoped to use the concepts of at-a-station hydraulic geometry to infer flow conditions in subglacial channels from the form of the velocity–discharge relationships derived from these tests. The results, however, displayed both clockwise and anticlockwise velocity–discharge hysteresis, in addition to the simple power function relationship assumed in the hydraulic geometry approach. Clockwise hysteresis seems to indicate that a moulin drains into a small tributary channel rather than directly into an arterial channel, and that discharges in the two channels vary out of phase with each other. Anticlockwise hysteresis is accompanied by strong diurnal variations in the value of dispersivity derived from the dye breakthrough curve, and is best explained by hydraulic damming of moulins or sub/englacial passageways. Despite the complex velocity–discharge relationships observed, some indication of subglacial flow conditions may be obtained if tributary channels comprise only a small fraction of the drainage path and power function velocity–discharge relationships are derived from dye injections conducted during periods when the supraglacial discharge entering the moulin and the bulk discharge vary in phase. Analyses based on this premise suggest that both open and closed channel flow occur beneath Haut Glacier d'Arolla, and that flow conditions are highly variable at and between sites.     

春季西沙永乐龙洞浮游植物的昼夜垂直分布特征

南海永乐龙洞位于西沙群岛永乐环礁,是迄今为止发现的最深的海洋蓝洞,水文环境及理化因素特殊,90 m以下水体为无氧环境。为研究永乐龙洞浮游植物的群落组成及其昼夜变化,于2017年3月在龙洞、潟湖及外礁坡进行浮游植物样品采集。研究结果表明:龙洞内叶绿素a浓度呈现随深度先增大后减小的趋势,日间浓度最大值层出现在40 m层(0.42μg/L),夜间则出现在20 m层(0.59μg/L)。永乐龙洞微微型浮游植物丰度介于1.1×10^3~5.1×10^4 cells/mL。聚球藻在上层水体占优势(0~20 m),40 m以下水层原绿球藻丰度对微微型浮游植物丰度贡献率最大(90%以上),微微型真核浮游植物丰度在整个水体都较低(除20 m层)。微微型浮游植物昼夜存在明显差异,夜间其丰度最大值层为20 m层,日间则上移至表层。本研究共记录微型和小型浮游植物5门41属55种(含未定种)。其中,硅藻门25属34种、甲藻门12属15种、金藻门1属1种、蓝藻3属、隐藻1属。微型和小型浮游植物丰度介于3.3×10^2~9.8×10^4 cells/L。甲藻丰度对浮游植物总丰度贡献率最大,其次是硅藻,隐藻和蓝藻丰度仅在少数水层占优势。微型和小型浮游植物昼夜变化明显,夜间丰度最大值层为20 m层,日间则出现在40 m层。微微型、微型和小型浮游植物垂直分布与叶绿素a浓度垂直分布一致性高。龙洞浮游植物的种类数和丰度高于潟湖和外礁坡。     

贻贝(Mytilus edulis)的核型与减数分裂

利用体内注射ＰＨＡ和秋水仙素的方法，以锶和生殖腺为材料，对贻贝ＭｙｔｉｌｕｓｅｄｕｌｉｓＬｉｎｎａｅｕｓ的核型和减数分裂进行了观察分析，结果为，二倍体数２ｎ＝２８，核型为１０ｍ＋１２ｓｍ＋６ｓｔ，ＮＦ＝５０。没有发现异形性染色体，贻贝的减数分裂与其他动物类似，也没有发现异形染色体的特殊行为。     

基于ASP.NET MVC的海域海岸带整治修复项目信息管理系统的设计和实现

文章在国家大力开展海域海岸带整治修复的背景下,利用Visual Studio 2013开发平台和SQL Server 2014数据库软件,采用ASP.NET MVC架构设计海域海岸带整治修复项目信息管理系统,实现整治修复项目信息的快速录入,并可进行查询、展示和互动等操作。相比传统信息管理系统,本系统大大提高了可维护性、可扩展性、灵活性和封装性,可促进我国海域海岸带整治修复项目信息管理实现现代化。     

基于国家海洋治理和全球气候变化的我国海洋灾害防治

为建立和完善现代化的海洋灾害防治体系,提高我国海洋治理和应对全球气候变化的能力,文章以全球治理和国家治理为背景,在明确致灾因子、承灾体、灾害以及灾害风险和管理等基本概念及其内涵的基础上,分析全球气候变化背景下我国海洋灾害及其风险的特征以及海洋灾害防治的关键性和基础性科学问题,并提出我国构建海洋灾害防治体系的建议。研究结果表明:在全球气候变化的影响下,我国沿海地区的海洋灾害风险复杂多变且有所提升;提出以群-环-域为主体的体系架构,研究全球气候变化与区域海洋的响应和反馈、全球气候变化背景下海洋灾害与风险的特征和规律以及综合海洋灾害风险评估和海洋灾害防治等问题;在我国构建海洋灾害防治体系的过程中,应加强科学研究以及技术和信息支撑、促进区域和全球联动联防以及提高全社会对海洋灾害的认知和防范水平。