This paper reports changes in vegetation distribution and species cover in relation to soil factors and hydrology in a semiarid Mediterranean salt marsh adjacent to the Mar Menor saline lagoon. Species cover, soil salinity, and the groundwater level were monitored between 1991 and 1993 and between 2002 and 2004, and total organic carbon, total nitrogen, total phosphorus, nitrates, ammonium and exchangeable phosphorus were measured in the soils in both study periods. In addition, three soil profiles were described in August 1992 and August 2004. The results indicate an elevation of the water table throughout the 13-year period, which was attributable to water flowing from areas with intensive agriculture. Flooding increased and soil salinity dropped in the most saline sites and increased in the least saline ones. The morphology of the soil profiles reflected the increase in flooding periods, due to the appearance of a greyer matrix in the deeper horizons and a more diffuse pattern of Fe mottles. Following these environmental changes, Sarcocornia fruticosa, Phragmites australis and Juncus maritimus strongly expanded at the wettest sites, which led to the disappearance of the original zonation pattern. The cover of Limonium delicatulum, in turn, decreased with the increase in moisture but increased following the increase in salinity. Changes in soil nutrients were only very evident in the sandy soils of the beach, probably due to the influence of organic debris deposited on the shoreline by the storms and due to the strong increase in the colonisation of this habitat by perennial species. According to the results obtained, control measures are needed in order to preserve habitat diversity in this and other salt marshes of this area. Monitoring of the vegetation distribution could be a useful tool to identify environmental impacts, in order to implement remedial actions. 相似文献
The properties of salinity in the South China Sea (SCS), a significant marginal sea connecting the Pacific andIndian Oceans, are greatly influenced by the transport of fresh water flux between the two oceans. However, the long-termchanges in the intermediate water in the SCS have not been thoroughly studied due to limited data, particularly in relationto its thermodynamic variations. This study utilized reanalysis data products to identify a 60-year trend of freshening in theintermediate waters of the northern South China Sea (NSCS), accompanied by an expansion of low-salinity water. Thestudy also constructed salinity budget terms, including advection and entrainment processes, and conducted an analysis ofthe salinity budget to understand the impacts of external and internal dynamic processes on the freshening trend of theintermediate water in the NSCS. The analysis revealed that the freshening in the northwest Pacific Ocean and theintensification of intrusion through the Luzon Strait at intermediate levels are the primary drivers of the salinity changes inthe NSCS. Additionally, a weakened trend in the intensity of vertical entrainment also contributes to the freshening in theNSCS. This study offers new insights into the understanding of regional deep sea changes in response to variations in boththermodynamics and oceanic dynamic processes. 相似文献
Given the second radial derivative Vrr(P) |δs of the Earth's gravitational potential V(P) on the surface δS corresponding to the satellite altitude, by using the fictitious compress recovery method, a fictitious regular harmonic field rrVrr(P)^* and a fictitious second radial gradient field V:(P) in the domain outside an inner sphere Ki can be determined, which coincides with the real field V(P) in the domain outside the Earth. Vrr^*(P)could be further expressed as a uniformly convergent expansion series in the domain outside the inner sphere, because rrV(P)^* could be expressed as a uniformly convergent spherical harmonic expansion series due to its regularity and harmony in that domain. In another aspect, the fictitious field V^*(P) defined in the domain outside the inner sphere, which coincides with the real field V(P) in the domain outside the Earth, could be also expressed as a spherical harmonic expansion series. Then, the harmonic coefficients contained in the series expressing V^*(P) can be determined, and consequently the real field V(P) is recovered. Preliminary simulation calculations show that the second radial gradient field Vrr(P) could be recovered based only on the second radial derivative V(P)|δs given on the satellite boundary. Concerning the final recovery of the potential field V(P) based only on the boundary value Vrr (P)|δs, the simulation tests are still in process. 相似文献
Salinity is the most important chemical attribute of athalassic salt lakes. Even so, some confusion persists of what salinity means and how to measure it. For sal lakes, salinity is best defined as the sum total of all ion concentrations, or total ion concentration. Ideally, it is recommended that salinities be expressed on a mass per mass basis and as ppt (parts per thousand). Direct measurements of salinity can only be derived from full ionic analyses. Indirect measurements can be derived by determinations of density, conductivity, freezing point depression and total dissolved solids or matter. 相似文献
The feasibility of using the more sophisticated weighted least-squares (WLS) model, as opposed to the traditional ordinary least-squares (OLS), in linear regressions of BHT data to estimate the static formation temperatures (SFT) was investigated. The most commonly used analytical methods (line-source; spherical and radial heat flow; and cylindrical heat source) were applied. Error propagation equations were derived to calculate errors in the time function of each method. These errors were combined with the BHT measurement errors to compute weighting factors for applying the WLS. Intercept uncertainties were estimated for all regressions using sets of synthetic and actual borehole logs taken from geothermal and oil applications. SFT computed with the spherical and radial heat flow method were generally greater than those from the other two methods. 相似文献
Precambrian fluvial systems, lacking the influence of rooted vegetation, probably were characterised by flashy surface runoff, low bank stability, broad channels with abundant bedload, and faster rates of channel migration; consequently, a braided fluvial style is generally accepted. Pre-vegetational braided river systems, active under highly variable palaeoclimatic conditions, may have been more widespread than are modern, ephemeral dry-land braided systems. Aeolian deflation of fine fluvial detritus does not appear to have been prevalent. With the onset of large cratons by the Neoarchaean–Palaeoproterozoic, very large, perennial braided river systems became typical. The c. 2.06–1.88 Ga Waterberg Group, preserved within a Main and a smaller Middelburg basin on the Kaapvaal craton, was deposited largely by alluvial/braided-fluvial and subordinate palaeo-desert environments, within fault-bounded, possibly pull-apart type depositories.
Palaeohydrological data obtained from earlier work in the Middelburg basin (Wilgerivier Formation) are compared to such data derived from the correlated Blouberg Formation, situated along the NE margin of the Main basin. Within the preserved Blouberg depository, palaeohydrological parameters estimated from clast size and cross-bed set thickness data, exhibit rational changes in their values, either in a down-palaeocurrent direction, or from inferred basin margin to palaeo-basin centre. In both the Wilgerivier and Blouberg Formations, calculated palaeoslope values (derived from two separate formulae) plot within the gap separating typical alluvial fan gradients from those which characterise rivers (cf. [Blair, T.C., McPherson, J.G., 1994. Alluvial fans and their natural distinction from rivers based on morphology, hydraulic processes, sedimentary processes, and facies assemblages. J. Sediment. Res. A64, 450–489.]). Although it may be argued that such data support possibly unique fluvial styles within the Precambrian, perhaps related to a combination of major global-scale tectono-thermal and atmospheric–palaeoclimatic events, a simpler explanation of these apparently enigmatic palaeoslope values may be pertinent. Of the two possible palaeohydrological formulae for calculating palaeoslope, one provides results close to typical fluvial gradients; the other formula relies on preserved channel-width data. We suggest that the latter will not be reliable due to problematic preservation of original channel-widths within an active braided fluvial system. We thus find no unequivocal support for a unique fluvial style for the Precambrian, beyond that generally accepted for that period and discussed briefly in the first paragraph. 相似文献
Lake Qarun has been profoundly affected by a combination of human activities and climatic changes during the past 5000 years.
Instrumental records available for the 20th century show that during most of this period both lake water level and salinity increased and that by the late 1980s lake water salinity was approximately that of seawater.
Sediment cores (c. 1 m long) were collected from this shallow (Zmax 8.4 m) saline lake in 1998 and the master core (QARU1) was used to examine the potential of paleolimnology for reconstructing
the recent environmental history of the site. According to 137Cs and 210Pb radio-assay, the recent sediment accumulation rate in QARU1 was around 5 mm year−1 during the latter half of the 20th century but radionuclide levels were low. Spheroidal carbonaceous particles (SCPs) were
present in the upper c. 30 cm of QARU1 and indicates contamination by low level particulate pollution, probably beginning
around 1950. The record of exotic pollen (Casuarina) indicated that sediment at 51–52 cm depth dated to around 1930. Otherwise the pollen spectra indicated a strongly disturbed
landscape with high ruderals and increased tree planting particularly since c. 1950. Diatom records were strongly affected
by taphonomic processes including reworking and differential preservation but typical marine diatoms increased after the 1920s.
Instrumental records show that the lake became more saline at this time. Freshwater taxa were present at approximately similar
abundances throughout the core. This distribution probably reflected a combination of processes. Reworking of ancient freshwater
diatomites is one likely source for freshwater diatoms in QARU1 but some taxa must also be contributed via the freshwater
inflows. Overall, the diatom stratigraphy indicated increasingly salinity since the 1920s but provided no firm evidence of
lake eutrophication. Diatom inferred salinity reconstructions were in only partial agreement with instrumental records but
inferred for the lower section of the core (pre 20th century to the 1960s) accord with measured water salinity values. Surficial
sediments of Lake Qarun contain environmental change records for the 20th century period but high sediment accumulation rate
and pollen reflect the high degree of human disturbance in the region. Because of poor preservation and evidence of reworking,
the relationships between diatom records and past water quality changes require careful interpretation, especially in the
upper section of the core. Nevertheless, early to mid 20th century measurements of increasing lake water salinity are well
supported by sediment records, a change that is probably linked to ingress of saline ground water 相似文献
In the recent design of the Gravity field and steady-state Ocean Circulation Explorer (GOCE) satellite mission, the gravity gradients are defined in the gradiometer reference frame (GRF), which deviates from the actual flight direction (local orbit reference frame, LORF) by up to 3–4°. The main objective of this paper is to investigate the effect of uncertainties in the knowledge of the gradiometer orientation due to attitude reconstitution errors on the gravity field solution. In the framework of several numerical simulations, which are based on a realistic mission configuration, different scenarios are investigated, to provide the accuracy requirements of the orientation information. It turns out that orientation errors have to be seriously considered, because they may represent a significant error component of the gravity field solution. While in a realistic mission scenario (colored gradiometer noise) the gravity field solutions are quite insensitive to small orientation biases, random noise applied to the attitude information can have a considerable impact on the accuracy of the resolved gravity field models. 相似文献