环礁沉积体系的过程-产物关系: 勘察式模拟初探

海洋沉积体系的定量模拟可分为仿真和勘察式模拟,后者的目标是建立沉积特征的连续谱、凝练新的科学问题。本文提出一个勘察式模拟的方法论框架,即根据控制方程确定自变量的定义域,进而由模拟计算给出应变量的值域,并结合物质收支平衡原理和“圆台状环礁”几何模型,以此方法预估环礁及其海底阶地物质输运和堆积格局。环礁是珊瑚礁的独特类型,其礁盘区提供了礁体生长和礁外坡、海底阶地堆积的几乎全部物源。结果表明,环礁自身生长受控于生物碎屑生产,而海底阶地的范围和沉积速率不仅决定于离礁悬沙通量,而且受到环礁外水深和海盆环流的制约。悬沙输运和重力流过程形成常态沉降和水下滑坡的交替沉积。此模型所预测的环礁沉积体系高程-面积曲线与南海环礁的实际曲线相对照,可获得环礁演化的机制信息。模拟结果还提示了需进一步研究的科学问题,如环礁生长规模及其控制机制、环礁沉积体系中周期性沉积的时间尺度、环礁外坡由于珊瑚生长自组织机制形成的重力流事件与地震等极端事件的对比和机制识别、环礁群的海底阶地沉积记录多样性、海面变化对环礁演化的影响和沉积记录、环礁人居环境安全等。     

基于大涡模拟与被动示踪物模型的人工鱼礁数值研究

投放人工鱼礁是解决海洋生态环境问题的重要措施之一。通过使用并行大涡模拟模式（the parallelizeda large-eddy simulation model,PALM）及被动示踪物模型模块,研究了不同流速条件（0.1,0.2,0.4和0.6 m/s）下方型人工鱼礁对流场形态、营养盐的抬升作用、和湍流动能收支的影响。研究表明,鱼礁的存在使得其附近垂向速度增大,产生上升流。受到上升流的抬升作用,鱼礁底部的示踪物迅速进入海洋上层,之后遇到鱼礁后方的背涡流,示踪物的抬升受阻,高度逐渐降低。在上升流区域以及背涡流区域的共同影响下,示踪物抬升区域的最大高度与来流流速无关。不同上升流定义对应的上升流区域的高度与来流流速均不相关;上升流区域的最大速度、平均速度与来流流速都成线性增加的关系;然而随着来流流速的增大,不同上升流定义对应的上升流区域面积的变化趋势却完全不同。投放鱼礁后,鱼礁区域底部的混合增强,区域底部的能量被输运至上层。这说明,鱼礁的存在不仅对营养物质具有抬升作用,还能将能量向上输运。     

Source and supply of sediment to a shoreline salient in a fringing reef environment

Reef-associated landforms are coupled to the health of the reef ecosystem which produces the sediment that forms and maintains these landforms. However, this connection can make reef-fronted coastlines sensitive to the impacts of climate change, given that any decline in ecosystem health (e.g. decreasing sediment supply) or changes to physical processes (e.g. sea level rise, increasing wave energy) could drive the sediment budgets of these systems into a net erosive state. Therefore, knowledge of both the sediment sources and transport mechanisms is required to predict the sensitivity of reef-associated landforms to future climate change. Here, we examine the benthic habitat composition, sediment characteristics (composition, texture, and age), and transport mechanisms and pathways to understand the interconnections between coastal morphology and the reef system at Tantabiddi, Ningaloo Reef, Western Australia. Benthic surveys and sediment composition analysis revealed that although live coral accounts for less than 5% of the benthic cover, coral is the dominant sediment constituent (34% on average). Sediment ages (²³⁸U/²³⁰Th) were mostly found to be thousands of years old, suggesting that the primary sediment source is relic reef material (e.g. Holocene reef framework). Sediment transport across the lagoon was quantified through measurements of ripple migration rates, which were found to be shoreward migrating and responsible for feeding the large shoreline salient in the lee of the reef. The derived sediment fluxes were comparable with previously measured rates of sediment production by bioerosion. These results suggest that sediment budgets of systems dependent on old (>10³ years) source materials may be more resilient to climate change as present-day reef health and community composition (i.e. sources of ‘new’ carbonate production) have limited influence on sediment supply. Therefore, the vulnerability of reef-associated landforms in these systems will be dictated by future changes to mechanisms of sediment generation (e.g. bioerosion) and/or physical processes. © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Dynamic simulation of tropical coral reef ecosystem being disturbed by multiple situations

In consideration of the rapid degradation of coral reef ecosystems, the establishment of models is helpful to comprehend the degradation mechanism of coral reef ecosystems and predict the development process of coral reef communities. According to the characteristics of complex ecosystem of tropical coral reefs in China, the coral reef functional group is the core level variable; combined with the multiple feedback effects of coral reef functional groups and environmental changes, the study presents a coral reef ecosystem dynamics model with hermatypic corals as the core. Based on the simulation of the assumed initial value and the internal feedback of the system, the results show that in the basic simulation(relative health conditions), the coverage area of live corals and coral reefs generally decreased first and then increased, and increased by 4.67% and 6.38% between2010 and 2050, respectively. Based on the calibration model and the current situation of the studied area, the multi-factor disturbance effects of coral reef communities were simulated and explored by setting up three scenarios involving fishing policy, terrestrial deposition, and inorganic nitrogen emissions. Among them, in the single factor disturbance, the fishing policy exerts the most direct impact on the community decline; and the succession phenomenon is obvious; the terrestrial sedimentation has a faster and more integrated effect on the community decline; the effect of inorganic nitrogen emission on the community decline is relatively slow. In the double/multi-factor disturbance, the superimposed disturbance will aggravate the multi-source feedback effect of the coral reef communities development, accelerate the community decay rate, and make its development trajectory more complicated and diverse. This method provides a scientific and feasible method for simulating the damage of long-term coral reef community and exploring the development law and adaptive management of coral reef ecosystems. In the future, it can be further studied in the ecological restoration process and decisionmaking direction of coral reefs.     

扬子浅滩东南海域海底潮流沙脊、沙波特征

利用seabat8101多波束系统对扬子浅滩东南海底地形进行了高精度探测。发现海底呈明显近乎平行排列的条带状起伏,脊谷相间,沙脊大部分呈NW-SE向排列,发育在45~50 m水深范围之内,沙脊横剖面不对称,大部分沙脊西南侧坡度大、东北坡缓。沙脊规模略有差异,沙脊宽度约0.6~9.8 km,沙脊之间间距可达8.9~22.4 km,高度约1.8~13.3 m,研究区内最长可达53 km。部分脊槽过渡区域发育成片链状海底沙波,沙波大致呈NE-SW走向,波高约0.3~1 m,波长1 km左右。研究区中西部有海底礁石孤立地突兀于相对平坦的海底之上,暂定名为扬礁,最浅水深35.9 m,位于30°59'7.4'~31°N,124°36'48.7'~124°37'40'E。扬子浅滩东南海域沙脊是介于活动沙脊和衰亡沙脊之间的准活动沙脊。该研究将为我国海洋开发和海洋经济发展、海洋行政管理以及海洋安全保障提供服务。     

珊瑚礁破碎带附近波浪演化和波生流实验研究

为了研究珊瑚岸礁破碎带附近波浪演化和波生流特性,通过水槽实验对规则波浪作用下珊瑚岸礁上沿礁分布的水位和流速进行了详细的测量。在典型卷破波条件下,测试了礁冠存在与不存在的两种情况。实验结果表明,多重波浪反射作用引起岸礁上形成不完全驻波,而破碎带附近的浅化作用则产生高次谐波,波浪破碎所耗散的波能主要来源于主频波,礁坪上透射波成分中二次谐波与主频波的能量相当;礁冠的存在引起破碎带宽度减小、礁坪上增水变大以及礁坪上各次谐波变小;礁冠不存在时,岸礁上波生流的沿礁分布与平直海岸相似,而礁冠的存在一定程度上阻碍了礁坪上水体向外海的回流。研究成果将丰富和发展珊瑚礁水动力学理论,并为岛礁工程的建设和维护提供一定的理论参考。     

Structural integrity of Ellisolandia elongata reefs: A mechanical approach to compare tensile strengths in natural and controlled environments

Geniculate coralline algae are oases of biodiversity, providing nursery areas and shelter for the species that live amongst their fronds. The key to their success in the inter‐tidal is the ability to withstand hydrodynamic forces. Under culturing conditions most of the physical and ecological stressors such as intense hydrodynamic forces and grazing are extremely reduced, thus affecting species mechanical properties and their response to external threats. The aim of the present study was to investigate tensile mechanical properties of clusters of fronds of Ellisolandia elongata from natural (sheltered and exposed reef) and culturing conditions (after 1 month of culturing). The tensile test showed that the first failure stress (σ_I) was not significantly different between the natural and culturing conditions, indicating that the two reefs (sheltered and exposed) were characterized by the same distribution of pre‐existing, inherent structural flaws. Interestingly, the σ_max (maximum stress before rupture) was significantly different between the two conditions, with the culturing condition being more resistant to average load compared to the natural conditions. The maximum stress before rupture (σ_max) showed the influence of the environment in reducing the strength and elasticity of the fronds.     

Mapping the global value and distribution of coral reef tourism

Global coral reef related tourism is one of the most significant examples of nature-based tourism from a single ecosystem. Coral reefs attract foreign and domestic visitors and generate revenues, including foreign exchange earnings, in over 100 countries and territories. Understanding the full value of coral reefs to tourism, and the spatial distribution of these values, provides an important incentive for sustainable reef management. In the current work, global data from multiple sources, including social media and crowd-sourced datasets, were used to estimate and map two distinct components of reef value. The first component is local “reef-adjacent” value, an overarching term used to capture a range of indirect benefits from coral reefs, including provision of sandy beaches, sheltered water, food, and attractive views. The second component is “on-reef” value, directly associated with in-water activities such diving and snorkelling. Tourism values were estimated as a proportion of the total visits and spending by coastal tourists within 30 km of reefs (excluding urban areas). Reef-adjacent values were set as a fixed proportion of 10% of this expenditure. On-reef values were based on the relative abundance of dive-shops and underwater photos in different countries and territories. Maps of value assigned to specific coral reef locations show considerable spatial variability across distances of just a few kilometres. Some 30% of the world's reefs are of value in the tourism sector, with a total value estimated at nearly US$36 billion, or over 9% of all coastal tourism value in the world's coral reef countries.     

威海近岸人工鱼礁布设对生物资源恢复效果

为了解人工鱼礁投放对区域内海洋生物资源恢复效果,于2013年3月至2014年1月在北黄海近岸人工鱼礁投放区进行调查。结果显示,该海区发现浮游动物53种,其中优势种为浮游桡足类。夏秋季底栖生物幼体成为季节性优势种。游泳动物共发现14种,主要为常见的礁区鱼类。底栖动物共12种,其中棘皮动物海燕为绝对优势种,为近岸养殖生物的主要敌害生物,主要的底栖资源优势种为虾蟹类与软体动物。投礁区的浮游动物与游泳动物物种数明显多于未投礁区,表明人工投礁有助于生物群落的恢复,提高生物多样性,改善区域生态系统。但该海域大型底栖藻类较少,还应进一步对大型底栖藻类增殖以提高海域初级生产。     

ScotMap: Participatory mapping of inshore fishing activity to inform marine spatial planning in Scotland

A detailed understanding of fishing activity in Scottish waters is required to inform marine spatial planning. Larger fishing vessels are fitted with Vessel Monitoring Systems (VMS) offering spatial information on fishing activity. VMS does not cover smaller vessels (under 15 m), which fish predominantly in inshore waters where the competition for space is often greatest. To improve knowledge of the distribution of fishing activity and value of fisheries in Scotland's inshore waters, Marine Scotland conducted a participatory fisheries mapping project, known as ScotMap. The data were collected during face-to-face interviews with 1090 fishermen of Scottish registered commercial fishing vessels under 15 m in overall length and relate to fishing activity for the period 2007–2011. Interviewees were asked to identify the areas in which they fish, estimate the contribution these areas make to vessel earnings, and to provide associated information. The majority of interviews relate to creel fishing. The data collected were aggregated to provide mapped outputs of the monetary value, relative importance to fishermen and the usage of the seas around Scotland (number of fishing vessels and number of crew). ScotMap outputs provide information on the locations of inshore fishing activities and the economic importance of different sea areas at a much higher spatial resolution than was previously possible. Outputs have informed marine policy development, provide a valuable resource for marine spatial planning in Scotland and illustrate how participatory mapping can generate useful resources on the location and importance of inshore fishing areas.