All washed up: spatial and temporal variation in the wash-up and fate of chondrichthyan egg cases along a section of the Garden Route,South Africa

Washed-up chondrichthyan egg cases were collected along three different sandy beaches around Plettenberg Bay, South Africa, between April 2016 and March 2017. GPS location was recorded upon collection, and, after being soaked in fresh water for 12 hours, egg cases were identified to species level. Additionally, boreholes, damage, biofouling and state of the hatchling slit were recorded. The hatching success of each egg case was inferred from these factors. Over the year, 6 996 egg cases of nine species were collected. Egg cases of the tiger catshark Halaelurus natalensis had the highest hatching rate at 70%. Egg cases of the leopard catshark Poroderma pantherinum had the highest predation rate at 57%. Season had no significant effect either on overall egg-case counts or on per-species counts. Location, however, significantly affected the overall egg-case counts, as well as per-species counts, with the exceptions of H. natalensis and the St Joseph Callorhinchus capensis. The results of this study provide insight into chondrichthyan species occurrence and spatial variation along a section of the Garden Route in the Western Cape Province and can act as a baseline for future research.     

Some Probability Applications to Oil Exploration

In the first part of this paper, a portion of a sedimentary basin is subdivided conceptually into hexagons of equal area. The area of each hexagon is equal to the minimum area an oil field should have to be commercial. Hexagons can be full of oil, or empty. A field size 1 consists of a cell with oil surrounded by six empty cells; a field size 2 consists of two adjacent cells with oil surrounded by eight empty cells, etc. Principles of Percolation Theory are used to determine the probabilility distribution of the areas of the oil fields existing in this portion of the basin. The only piece of information necessary to determine this probability distribution is the Success Ratio (number of successful exploration wells/total number of exploration wells drilled in this portion of the basin). This approach has several practical applications.In the second part of this paper, a probabilistic model is introduced to predict to which extent potential oil traps are filled with oil. The model assumes that the probability that an oil unit will end up in a particular trap, is proportional to the surface area of the trap. The model predicts that independently of the distribution of the trap volumes, there will be a critical trap volume. All the traps having a volume less than this critical volume, will be filled to spill point. An equation is deduced to predict, for all traps having a volume greater than the critical, the volume of oil that can be encountered in the trap, provided the volume of the trap is known.     

单频BDS定位的可靠性分析

针对BDS系统中存在的模型误差对模糊度解算造成估计偏差的问题,该文提出了以最小可探测偏差(MDB)为模型误差计算有偏估计成功率对模糊度解算的正确性进行评价,并分别以码观测和相位观测进行了仿真实验,得出了存在码观测MDB和相位观测MDB等情形时的有偏估计成功率大小的规律,并与不存在模型误差时的成功率进行对比分析。鉴于GNSS定位粗差包括伪距码观测粗差和相位周跳,推导了码观测和相位观测情况下的BDS系统单频定位可靠性指标MDB和最小可探测效应(MDE),并进行了中国大陆内某地点的BDS单频定位性能的仿真模拟,着重分析了载波相位MDB与周跳之间的关系。     

基于卫星高度计和浮标漂流轨迹的海洋涡旋特征信息对比分析

本文基于Chelton提供的涡旋数据集和浮标漂流轨迹提取的涡旋结果,对1993—2015年的全球涡旋进行特征信息对比分析。结果表明,在全球范围内高度计涡旋数据集中的欧拉涡旋和浮标漂流轨迹提取的拉格朗日涡旋的配对成功率在空间分布上并不均衡,在中纬度(20°—60°S,20°—60°N)配对成功率最高可达25%,而在20°S—20°N区域内配对成功率不到10%。由于低纬度地转效应并不显著,卫星高度计无法有效观测到涡旋,但通过浮标漂流轨迹识别出的拉格朗日涡旋却大量存在,这说明在低纬度区域内,采用漂流浮标手段对涡旋进行观测,能够有效地弥补卫星高度计识别涡旋的区域限制。进一步分析表明,总体而言,提取的欧拉涡旋半径要大于拉格朗日涡旋闭合回路半径。两种识别方法获得的涡旋(闭合回路)在20°—50°S, 20°—50°N的副热带和中纬度海区半径大致相当; 20°S—20°N度以内(特别是近赤道区域)、高纬度区域以及西边界流区域,欧拉涡旋半径是同期拉格朗日涡旋闭合回路半径的3倍或更多。此外,对配对涡旋的Rossby数分析结果显示,拉格朗日涡旋较小的闭合回路对应较大的平均相对涡度,这表明浮标在被中尺度涡俘获后,更容易在相对涡度较大的地方(如中尺度涡中心、中尺度涡边缘等)形成闭合回路。     

双星姿态测量中确定整周模糊度的新方法

针对双星姿态测量中整周模糊度解算这一关键问题,提出了一种新的双星整周模糊度解算方法——天线反转法。其基本思想是,在静态初始化过程中将副天线绕主天线反转了180°。模拟算例表明,该方法能够快速可靠地解算出双星整周模糊度。     

利用油气微生物勘探技术寻找页岩气有利目标区

利用油气微生物勘探技术,可以开展预测含油气区、油气前景分级评价、油气成藏主控因素分析等。近几年来该技术在中国12个区块应用效果良好。页岩气是一种非常规的天然气。控制页岩气富集的因素较多,如有机碳含量、有机质类型、热演化程度、页岩的孔隙与裂缝、埋深、压力等。在页岩气勘探中,原生页岩气藏较高的异常压力、气藏的隐蔽特性、页岩的孔隙与微裂缝愈发育气藏富集程度愈高等这些有利的页岩气成藏特点,均为油气微生物勘探技术充分发挥其独特优势提供了得天独厚的条件,可以更有效地反映页岩气的富集规律,进而圈定页岩气有利目标区,大大提高页岩气的勘探成功率,降低页岩气的勘探风险。     

Reproductive success of Calanus pacificus during diatom blooms in Dabob Bay, Washington

While numerous laboratory studies in the last decade have shown that diatoms can induce reproductive failure in copepods, field evidence for a negative diatom effect is equivocal. To unambiguously elucidate the effects diatoms have on copepod reproduction in situ, we undertook a study of the abundance, distribution, grazing rates, and reproductive success of Calanus pacificus in Dabob Bay, Washington, USA, during two spring bloom periods. We simultaneously measured the phytoplankton composition, abundance, and distribution. Here we present results for the reproductive success of C. pacificus using four measurements: egg production rate, clutch size, egg hatching success, and naupliar survival (to the first feeding stage). Egg production rate was positively correlated with chlorophyll a concentration, and egg hatching success and naupliar survival were usually greater than 80%. However, in February 2002 and 2003 – during blooms of diatoms of the genus Thalassiosira – either egg hatching success, naupliar survival, or both were significantly depressed compared to other times in spring and summer. These effects, combined with evidence that C. pacificus was grazing aldehyde-producing Thalassiosira at the time of their blooms, indicate that diatoms can negatively affect copepod reproduction in the field, albeit only under specific circumstances and for brief periods.     

阿德雷岛企鹅种群分布、繁殖行为及其环境影响因子分析

2006/2007夏季对南极长城站地区的企鹅种群数量、分布及其繁殖行为进行了生态学调查与研究,共记录到5种企鹅:白眉企鹅、阿德利企鹅、纹颊企鹅、王企鹅和帝企鹅,前3种企鹅在本地区繁殖,后2种为本区旅鸟。阿德雷岛是本地区最重要的企鹅繁殖地,2006/2007南极夏季阿德雷岛上繁殖的企鹅约为9724只,繁殖期后的企鹅总数约为17220只,繁殖成功率为0.40—1.41只/对。通过与历史资料对比,初步分析了近年来在本地区繁殖的企鹅数量与种群结构的变化趋势及其与气候、环境、人类活动的关系。     

The market(able) place of school geography scholarship, 2007–2016

This report analyses a decade of geography scholarship student entry and achievement data (n = 10,205) to reveal patterns and trends of high‐achieving school students. The study is an exploratory analysis, the aim of which is to describe where the greatest scholarship success has occurred, as well as attendant demographic characteristics of New Zealand's most capable geography students and their schools. Emerging from the regions is a localised story of students from an extremely narrow number of schools achieving disproportionate scholarship success. This raises questions in the wider geography teaching community about the possibility of a broader constituency achieving scholarship awards.