Degradation of phytoplankton-derived organic matter: Implications for carbon and nitrogen biogeochemistry in coastal ecosystems

Experiments were conducted using seawater from the Oregon continental shelf to determine: (1) rates of phytoplankton-derived particulate organic matter (POM) and dissolved organic matter (DOM) degradation by natural microbial communities, and (2) whether inorganic nutrients or flagellate grazing limit the bacterial response to, and subsequent degradation of, the DOM. In the initial seawater samples, nutrients were depleted and organic matter concentrations were elevated above concentrations found in upwelled water, indicative of recent bloom conditions. In whole water treatments incubated for 3 d, an average of 24% of the total organic C and 33% of the POC was degraded, with some portion of the POC being converted to DOC. In treatments incubated after POM was removed by filtration, DOC degradation was initially rapid and then proceeded at a slower rate. After 3 d, an average of 41% of the DOC was degraded. Selective degradation of the C-component of both the POM and DOM relative to the N-component was observed. Reductions in flagellate grazing resulted in increases in bacterial abundance and enhanced DOC degradation, while inorganic nutrient amendments had little effect. Overall, these results suggest that a fraction of the phytoplankton-derived POM and DOM can be rapidly degraded, contributing to oxygen consumption on the continental shelf. The long degradation time of a less labile DOC fraction relative to potential offshelf transport mechanisms suggests that Oregon's coastal waters may be a source of DOC to adjacent offshore waters of the North Pacific.     

Experimental investigations into the influence of biofilms and environmental factors on short-term microtopographic fluctuations of supratidal sandstone

In this study laboratory experiments were used to explore the role of biofilms, formed by lithobiontic microorganism communities, in causing hourly surface changes of supratidal sandstone and the potential linkage to long-term rock decay. To isolate the influence of individual environmental factors (temperature and humidity) on rock surface changes (expansion and contraction), a colonized (biofilm-covered) and a non-colonized sandstone block (biofilm-free) underwent the same univariate microclimatic simulations closely controlled by an environmental chamber. Simulations were run under three different light conditions, with a natural light lamp on, on and off at 20-min intervals and off, to investigate the impact of light on rock surface dynamics. Measured with a traversing micro-erosion meter (TMEM), two-hourly microtopographic fluctuations of these two sandstone blocks were compared in the same environment. Induced by microclimatic variations, surface movements of significantly higher magnitude (12–120% under varying tempeature and 121–154% under varying humidity) and different change patterns were observed on the colonized block, indicating the primary role of biofilm in driving microtopographic fluctuations of supratidal sandstone. However, thermally driven changes of similar magnitude and pattern were observed on both surfaces, suggesting other mechanisms also operating on the non-colonized rock surface in this process. Due to the sensitivity of biofilm microorganism communities to light, the magnitude and pattern of surface changes was impacted by light condition. Because biofilms increased the magnitude and number of cycles of expansion and contraction of the experimental rock surface, we propose that lithobiontic biofilms facilitate the detachment of grains and granular disintegration on the rock surface, consequently contributing to rock decay and accelerating the rate of breakdown of supratidal rock. This short-term episode therefore needs to be superimposed on longer term studies to fully understand the role of biofilms in rock surface change. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Salt weathering: influence of evaporation rate,supersaturation and crystallization pattern

Micro- and macroscale experiments which document the dynamics of salt damage to porous stone have yielded data which expose weaknesses in earlier interpretations. Previously unexplained differences are found in crystal morphology, crystallization patterns, kinetics and substrate damage when comparing the growth of mirabilite (Na₂SO₄. 10H₂O) and thenardite (Na₂SO₄) versus halite (NaCl). The crystallization pattern of sodium sulphate was strongly affected by relative humidity (RH), while a lesser RH effect was observed for sodium chloride. Macroscale experiments confirmed that mirabilite (crystallizing at RH > 50 per cent) and thenardite (crystallizing at RH < 50 per cent) tend to form subflorescence in highly localized areas under conditions of constant RH and temperature. This crystallization pattern was more damaging than that of halite, since halite tended to grow as efflorescence or by filling the smallest pores of the stone in a homogeneous fashion, a result which contradicts Wellman and Wilson's theoretical model of salt damage. Low RH promoted rapid evaporation of saline solutions and higher supersaturation levels, resulting in the greatest damage to the stone in the case of both sodium sulphate and sodium chloride crystallization. At any particular crystallization condition, sodium chloride tended to reach lower supersaturation levels (resulting in the crystallization of isometric crystals) and created negligible damage, while sodium sulphate reached higher supersaturation ratios (resulting in non-equilibrium crystal shapes), resulting in significant damage. ESEM showed no damage from sodium sulphate due to hydration. Instead, after water condensation on thenardite crystals, rapid dissolution followed by precipitation of mirabilite took place, resulting in stone damage by means of crystallization pressure generation. It is concluded that salt damage due to crystallization pressure appears to be largely a function of solution supersaturation ratio and location of crystallization. These key factors are related to solution properties and evaporation rates, which are constrained by solution composition, environmental conditions, substrate properties, and salt crystallization growth patterns. When combined with a critical review of salt damage literature, these experiments allow the development of a model which explains variations in damage related to combinations of different salts, substrates and environmental conditions. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

春季厄尔尼诺快速衰减对华北夏季降水的影响

利用再分析的陆地降水、环流和辐射数据,以及表征大气波动的指数,对比了1951—2020年期间El Niño春季快速衰减年和缓慢衰减年的东亚环流和华北夏季降水异常情况,并从大气波动强度的角度探讨了为何El Niño在一些年份的春季会发生快速衰减。结果表明,相较于其他不发生El Niño衰减的年份,El Niño春季快速衰减年华北7、8月的降水量显著偏多,尤其是8月;而El Niño缓慢衰减年夏季,华北降水相较其他年份偏多不明显。El Niño春季快速衰减年6—8月850 hPa上菲律宾到南海存在异常反气旋,其强度强于El Niño缓慢衰减年;El Niño春季快速衰减年8月500 hPa西太平洋副热带高压(西太副高)显著偏北,而缓慢衰减年西太副高偏北的特征不明显,而是以偏西为主;200 hPa副热带西风急流在El Niño春季快速衰减年8月显著偏北,而在El Niño缓慢衰减年中反而略偏南;El Niño春季快速衰减年6—8月沃克环流显著偏强,相比之下El Niño缓慢衰减年沃克环流偏强的特征要弱很多。上述环流异常特征为El Niño春季快速衰减年华北7—8月降水异常偏多提供了有利条件。通过近地面风场合成分析发现,春季El Niño快速衰减月前后,赤道中西太平洋异常东风爆发非常明显,而El Niño缓慢衰减年的异常东风信号较弱。春季El Niño快速衰减前印度洋对流活动非常强盛,并向海洋性大陆传播,这种对流可能通过不断激发大气波动,继而引发近地面东风爆发,最终导致El Niño出现快速衰减。     

应用气体扩散和氡蜕变理论讨论水氡异常的形成

应用气体扩散理论,给出水氡异常变民体积应变的近式关系式,式中证明由于气体的扩散效应,水氡异常变化对体积应变量相 放大作用。这有是形成异常的主要原因,同时结合丰水氡异常对其进行了探讨。     

瞬变电磁法仪器研制中的噪声抑制问题

归纳了瞬变电磁法仪器研制中所涉及的几种主要干扰类型。针对各类噪声的特点,分析了50Hz工频电噪声、本机噪声及高值噪声的抑制方法。特别指出了适度性原则下,采样率、观测时间及衰减窗口的匹配关系。      

JARVIS REVISITED: DISTANCE DECAY IN SERVICE AREAS OF MID-19TH CENTURY ASYLUMS

Edward Jarvis in 1850 first demonstrated that admission rates to mental hospitals decrease with increasing residential distance, a relationship known today as “Jarvis's Law.” His original data are presented, mapped, and examined by regression analysis to better understand spatial and temporal patterns of mid-19th century mental hospital utilization. Distance substantially affected admission rates to a radius of about 60 miles from the institution in Massachusetts; and there was strong distance decay in the other states examined. For all twelve states, there was a positive association between age of the hospitals and admission rates, which also decreased with increasing residential distance.     

Wave parameters and functions in wavelet analysis

A preliminary study of wave parameters and functions in wavelet analysis is conducted in this paper. The Morlet wavelet transform is used to calculate the time–frequency wavelet energy density function, its volume (i.e. the total energy), its frequency-integral (i.e. the wavelet smoothed instantaneous wave energy history), its time-integral (i.e. the wavelet spectral density function), and two non-dimensional wave indices (NIF, NIT). The processing of the measured wave data obtained from the Chi-Gu coastal observation tower during the period August 2000 to July 2001 indicates that the inter-comparison of wavelet smoothed instantaneous wave energy history and smoothed instantaneous wave energy history (SIWEH) as defined by Funke and Mansard (Proc 17th Int Conf on Ocean Eng, 1980) can reveal the noise structure of the wave signal. The wave data with index NIF greater than 2 is always accompanied with noise, therefore NIF can be used as one of the data quality criteria. The index NIT is linearly correlated with the significant wave period and with the significant wave height, therefore NIT can be used to study the wave growth and decaying phenomena.     

Method for correction of the prestack migration amplitude of converted waves

The paper presents a method for correction of amplitude of prestack migration using the reflectivity function. The solution of wave equations for heterogeneous media expressed in the form of Neumann series for converted waves was used to find the reflectivity function. The performance of the proposed method was verified using synthetic models of wavefields. The synthetic models of wavefields were also used to compare amplitude correction levels required by the presented method and the standard amplitude correction methods, i.e., the methods using the spherical divergence and extention factor.