A decline in molluscan carbonate production driven by the loss of vegetated habitats encoded in the Holocene sedimentary record of the Gulf of Trieste

Carbonate sediments in non‐vegetated habitats on the north‐east Adriatic shelf are dominated by shells of molluscs. However, the rate of carbonate molluscan production prior to the 20th century eutrophication and overfishing on this and other shelves remains unknown because: (i) monitoring of ecosystems prior to the 20th century was scarce; and (ii) ecosystem history inferred from cores is masked by condensation and mixing. Here, based on geochronological dating of four bivalve species, carbonate production during the Holocene is assessed in the Gulf of Trieste, where algal and seagrass habitats underwent a major decline during the 20th century. Assemblages of sand‐dwelling Gouldia minima and opportunistic Corbula gibba are time‐averaged to >1000 years and Corbula gibba shells are older by >2000 years than shells of co‐occurring Gouldia minima. This age difference is driven by temporally disjunct production of two species coupled with decimetre‐scale mixing. Stratigraphic unmixing shows that Corbula gibba declined in abundance during the highstand phase and increased again during the 20th century. In contrast, one of the major contributors to carbonate sands – Gouldia minima – increased in abundance during the highstand phase, but declined to almost zero abundance over the past two centuries. Gouldia minima and herbivorous gastropods associated with macroalgae or seagrasses are abundant in the top‐core increments but are rarely alive. Although Gouldia minima is not limited to vegetated habitats, it is abundant in such habitats elsewhere in the Mediterranean Sea. This live–dead mismatch reflects the difference between highstand baseline communities (with soft‐bottom vegetated zones and hard‐bottom Arca beds) and present‐day oligophotic communities with organic‐loving species. Therefore, the decline in light penetration and the loss of vegetated habitats with high molluscan production traces back to the 19th century. More than 50% of the shells on the sea floor in the Gulf of Trieste reflect inactive production that was sourced by heterozoan carbonate factory in algal or seagrass habitats.     

脉冲星对氢原子钟的频率驾驭算法研究

氢原子钟具有较高的短期稳定度,将其作为主钟可在短期内产生高精度的本地时间信号.但氢钟存在频率漂移现象,导致其长期稳定度较差,从而影响本地时间的准确性.毫秒脉冲星自转高度稳定,借助于其长期稳定度高的特性,可定期实现对氢原子钟的频率驾驭,并对实时信号加以控制.首先分析了国际脉冲星计时阵(International Pulsar Timing Array,IPTA)第二批发布数据中四颗毫秒脉冲星的稳定度随时间的变化,同时采用哈达玛方差分析了中国科学院国家授时中心(National Time Service Center,NTSC)一台氢钟的频率稳定性能,最终给出了利用脉冲星驾驭氢原子钟频率的方法.     

非局部均值滤波在重力异常数据处理中的应用

根据小子域滤波原理,小子域滤波产生异常边界扭曲主要表现为高频干扰,提出小子域滤波与非局部均值滤波联合的方法以克服小子域滤波存在的异常边界扭曲问题。利用小子域滤波良好的边界增强能力和非局部均值滤波高频细节保护能力,在压制小子域滤波缺陷的同时尽可能保护小子域滤波的边界增强效果。通过模拟计算和莱州湾海域实测重力数据处理表明,本文方法在增强异常边界的同时压制小子域滤波产生的边界扭曲效应,获得了更好的重力异常处理效果。与单一小子域滤波相比,本文方法不需要考虑异常边界形态,具有更强的稳定性和普适性。     

深时源-汇系统古地理重建方法评述

源-汇系统根据侵蚀、搬运及沉积作用的显著程度可划分为物源区、过渡区和沉积区,根据研究的时间尺度可划分为现代系统、第四纪系统和深时系统。洋陆边缘源-汇系统根据地貌单元的空间配置可划分为"陡—短—深"、"宽—深"及"宽—浅"3种空间分布类型,这3种类型在沉积体积分布及沉积记录保存潜力上存在差异。完整的源-汇系统古地理重建包括沉积区古地理重建和物源区古地理重建。深时尺度下沉积区古地理重建方法随着岩相古地理、构造古地理、生物古地理及层序地层学的发展已趋完善,而物源区古地理重建则更具挑战性,尤其是在物源区遭受侵蚀而不复存在的情况下更具难度。在源-汇分析方法体系中,物源区古流域水系形态、面积范围、地貌地势等古地理要素可通过构造要素分析、碎屑矿物分析、沉积体积回填、地貌学参数比例关系、古水力学参数比例关系和河流沉积通量模型等方法获得。总之,深时源-汇系统古地理重建能够通过盆地沉积记录揭示出物源区古地理演化特征,为沉积盆地充填过程提供沉积供给的信息,对能源矿产勘探和深时古环境研究具有重要意义。     

Snowmelt characteristics in a pristine mountain catchment of the Jalovecký Creek,Slovakia, over the last three decades

The Jalovecký Creek catchment, Slovakia (area 22.2 km², mean elevation 1500 m a.s.l.), is likely the last big valley complex in the Carpathian Mountains, in which the hydrological cycle is still governed by natural processes. Hydrological research is conducted there since the end of the 1980s. The overall mission of the research is to increase the knowledge about the hydrological cycle in the highest part of the Carpathians. The research agenda, briefly introduced in the first part of this article, is focused on water balance, snow accumulation and melt and runoff formation. Recent analysis of precipitation, discharge, snow cover and isotopic data from period 1989–2018 indicates that hydrological cycle has become more dynamic since 2014. Although several indicators suggest that it could be related to the cold part of the year, direct links with snow storage and the contribution of snowmelt water to catchment runoff were not confirmed. The second part of the article is therefore focused on an analysis of daily cycles in streamflow in March to June 1988–2018 to obtain a deeper insight into the snowmelt process. We describe characteristics of the cycles and examine their variability over the study period. The results indicate that less snow at the lowest elevations (800–1150 m a.s.l.) since 2009 could have influenced the cessation of the cycles in June since 2010. The possible role of the decreased amount of snow at the lowest elevations in changes in runoff characteristics is also suggested by an increase in time lags between maximum discharges during the events and maximum air temperatures preceding discharge maxima measured near the catchment outlet (at 750 m a.s.l.) in spring 2018 compared to springs with a similar number of streamflow cycles in the years 1988, 2000 and 2009. Wavelet analysis did not indicate changes in global power spectra in hourly discharge and air temperature data.     

The variation and controls of mean transit times in Australian headwater catchments

Determining mean transit times in headwater catchments is critical for understanding catchment functioning and understanding their responses to changes in landuse or climate. Determining whether mean transit times (MTTs) correlate with drainage density, slope angle, area, or land cover permits a better understanding of the controls on water flow through catchments and allows first-order predictions of MTTs in other catchments to be made. This study assesses whether there are identifiable controls on MTTs determined using ³H in headwater catchments of southeast Australia. Despite MTTs at baseflow varying from a few years to >100 years, it was difficult to predict MTTs using single or groups of readily-measured catchment attributes. The lack of readily-identifiable correlations hampers the prediction of MTTs in adjacent catchments even where these have similar geology, land use, and topography. The long MTTs of the Australian headwater catchments are probably in part due to the catchments having high storage volumes in deeply-weathered regolith, combined with low recharge rates due to high evapotranspiration. However, the difficulty in estimating storage volumes at the catchment scale hampers the use of this parameter to estimate MTTs. The runoff coefficient (the fraction of rainfall exported via the stream) is probably also controlled by evapotranspiration and recharge rates. Correlations between the runoff coefficient and MTTs in individual catchments allow predictions of MTTs in nearby catchments to be made. MTTs are shorter in high rainfall periods as the catchments wet up and shallow water stores are mobilized. Despite the contribution of younger water, the major ion geochemistry in individual catchments commonly does not correlate with MTTs, probably reflecting heterogeneous reactions and varying degrees of evapotranspiration. Documenting MTTs in catchments with high storage volumes and/or low recharge rates elsewhere is important for understanding MTTs in diverse environments.     

A meta-analysis of the impacts of forest logging on soil CO_2 efflux

Soil CO_2 efflux, the second largest flux in a forest carbon budget, plays an important role in global carbon cycling. Forest logging is expected to have large effects on soil CO_2 efflux and carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems. However, a comprehensive understanding of soil CO_2 efflux dynamics in response to forest logging remains elusive due to large variability in results obtained across individual studies. Here, we used a meta-analysis approach to synthesize the results of 77 individual field studies to determine the impacts of forest logging on soil CO_2 efflux. Our results reveal that forest logging significantly stimulated soil CO_2 efflux of the growing season by 5.02%. However, averaged across all studies, nonsignificant effect was detected following forest logging. The large variation among forest logging impacts was best explained by forest type, logging type, and time since logging. Soil CO_2 efflux in coniferous forests exhibited a significant increase(4.38%) due to forest logging, while mixed and hardwood forests showed no significant change. Logging type also had a significant effect on soil CO_2 efflux, with thinning increasing soil CO_2 efflux by 12.05%, while clear-cutting decreasing soil CO_2 efflux by 8.63%. The time since logging also had variable effects, with higher soil CO_2 efflux for 2 years after logging, and lower for 3-6 years after logging; when exceeded 6 years, soil CO_2 efflux increased. As significantly negative impacts of forest logging were detected on fine root biomass, the general positive effects on soil CO_2 efflux can be explained by the accelerated decomposition of organic matter as a result of elevated soil temperature and organic substrate quality. Our results demonstrate that forest logging had potentially negative effects on carbon sequestration in forest ecosystems.     

Travel times for snowmelt-dominated headwater catchments: Influences of wetlands and forest harvesting,and linkages to stream water quality

The time it takes water to travel through a catchment, from when it enters as rain and snow to when it leaves as streamflow, may influence stream water quality and catchment sensitivity to environmental change. Most studies that estimate travel times do so for only a few, often rain-dominated, catchments in a region and use relatively short data records (<10 years). A better understanding of how catchment travel times vary across a landscape may help diagnose inter-catchment differences in water quality and response to environmental change. We used comprehensive and long-term observations from the Turkey Lakes Watershed Study in central Ontario to estimate water travel times for 12 snowmelt-dominated headwater catchments, three of which were impacted by forest harvesting. Chloride, a commonly used water tracer, was measured in streams, rain, snowfall and as dry atmospheric deposition over a 31 year period. These data were used with a lumped convolution integral approach to estimate mean water travel times. We explored relationships between travel times and catchment characteristics such as catchment area, slope angle, flowpath length, runoff ratio and wetland coverage, as well as the impact of harvesting. Travel time estimates were then used to compare differences in stream water quality between catchments. Our results show that mean travel times can be variable for small geographic areas and are related to catchment characteristics, in particular flowpath length and wetland cover. In addition, forest harvesting appeared to decrease mean travel times. Estimated mean travel times had complex relationships with water quality patterns. Results suggest that biogeochemical processes, particularly those present in wetlands, may have a greater influence on water quality than catchment travel times.     

Adaptive analysis of infinite beams dynamics problems using the periodic configuration update method in the time domain

This paper proposes a new approach for the assessment of the dynamic response of continuously supported infinite beams under high‐speed moving loads. A change in the representation of equations of motion in the dynamics of discrete structures is proposed to obtain an improved accuracy of the numerical integration in the time domain. The proposed numerical method called the “periodic configuration update” or “PCU method” is applied to solve the problem of a vertical moving harmonic load on an infinite classical Euler‐Bernoulli beam resting on a continuous viscoelastic foundation. This study shows the superiority of the proposed method in comparison with other methods presented in the literature that suffer from the material time derivative, i.e., convective terms, that arises from the Galilean transformation. To confront this numerical problem, the PCU method retains the principle of the spatial follow of loads while zeroing the relative velocity with the traversed beam via a step‐by‐step adaptive integration of the equation of structural dynamics. The dynamic load is modeled with high theoretical velocities that can reach the critical velocity of the studied beam with different angular frequencies belonging to moderate frequency range. A parametric study is carried out to analyze the influence of key parameters on the convergence. The obtained results show a high efficiency of the PCU method for solving these types of problems relative to the dynamics of high speed trains/tracks.