Nutrient Limitation in Macroalgae (Ulva and Enteromorpha) from the Rías Baixas (NW Spain)

Abstract.  Photosynthesis and growth rates in samples of two green seaweeds ( Ulva and Enteromorpha ) were monitored in the laboratory. The macroalgae were collected every 15 days from four coastal embayments in Galicia (NW Spain). Ulva samples were found to be nutritionally limited, particularly in summer. The physiological activity of Enteromorpha did not appear to be as affected by nutrient scarcity, although it may have suffered from phosphorus limitation. The subsistence quotas, critical concentrations and storage capacity for N and P in Ulva were comparable to those obtained by other investigators in similar studies. The trace metals analysed apparently did not negatively affect the macroalgae at the measured concentrations; one explanation is that many of these metals function as essential micronutrients. The complex physiological interactions between metals and nutrients, however, may complicate interpretation of the results.     

杆状病毒感染越冬亲虾(Penaeus chenesis)的研究——越冬亲虾感染及其垂直传播的可能性

在中国对虾越冬亲虾中检出杆状病毒。经对病虾鳃、前中肠、卵巢组织进行电镜观察，在这些组织中发现大量有囊膜的杆状病毒。病毒粒子大小约为３６７ｎｍ×１２８ｎｍ，核衣壳为３２４ｎｍ×９２ｎｍ。病毒在细胞内不形成包涵体，在核内或在细胞质的发生基质中装配。从病毒的形态特征、感染组织以及典型的发病症状和病理变化，初步认为亲虾感染的病毒与近年广泛报道的造成养殖对虾大规模流行病的主要原因——中国对虾杆状病毒为同一种。卵巢组织也是病毒的主要靶器官之一，亲虾卵巢组织的被感染暗示着该病毒有可能通过生殖细胞而垂直传播     

Sediment Transport in Rivers and Coastal Waters

Following Bagnold's approach, a relationship between sediment transport and energy dissipation is developed. The major assumption made in the study is that the near bed velocity plays a dominant role in the process of sediment transport. A general relationship between energy dissipation and sediment transport is first proposed. Then the equations for total sediment transport are derived by introducing the appropriate expression of energy dissipation rate under different conditions, such as open channel flows, combination of wave and current, as well as longshore sediment transport. Within the flows investigated, the derived relationships are fairly consistent with the available data over a wide range of conditions.     

耗氧速率(OUR)测量方法的实验研究

目前多采用分批实验法和呼吸测量仪测量耗氧速率,而耗氧速率的测量对于研究活性污泥数学模型中的动力学参数及废水特性鉴定具有重要意义。本文根据OUR测量方法的基本原理设计了1种简易的OUR测量装置,为检验测量装置的有效性,设计了相关实验进行验证。在内源呼吸实验中,测定了所用活性污泥的内源呼吸速率是5.1mgO2/L·h,污泥的衰减系数是0.0137h-1,比文献值略高。基质降解实验对人工配水(葡萄糖和淀粉)的耗氧速率进行了测定,实验结果显示有3个显著不同的耗氧速率,分别为35mg/L·h,13mg/L·h,6mg/L·h,它们各代表葡萄糖降解、淀粉降解和内源呼吸的速率。内源呼吸速率高于前1个实验是由于基质降解过程中污泥量增加所致。并计算出异养菌产率系数Kd为0.63mgVSS/mgCOD,Kd略低于文献值。实验结果证明,该装置能很好的实现测量目的。     

Accumulation of organic and inorganic carbon in Pliocene–Pleistocene sediments along the SW African margin

The Ocean Drilling Program Leg 175 recovered a unique series of stratigraphically continuous sedimentary sections along the SW African margin, an area which is presently affected by active coastal upwelling. The accumulation rates of organic and inorganic carbon are a major component of this record. Four Leg 175 sites (1082, 1084, 1085, 1087) are chosen as part of a latitudinal transect from the present northern to southern boundaries of the Benguela Current upwelling system, to decipher the Pliocene–Pleistocene history of biogenic production and its relationship with global and local changes in oceanic circulation and climate. The pattern of CaCO₃ and C_org mass accumulation rates (MARs) over 0.25-Myr intervals indicates that the evolution of carbon burial is highly variable between the northern and the southern Benguela regions, as well as between sites that have similar hydrological conditions. This, as well as the presence over most locations of high-amplitude, rapid changes of carbon burial, reflect the partitioning of biogenic production and patterns of sedimentation into local compartments over the Benguela margin. The combined mapping of CaCO₃ and C_org MARs at the study locations suggests four distinct evolutionary periods, which are essentially linked with major steps in global climate change: the early Pliocene, the mid-Pliocene warm event, a late Pliocene intensification of northern hemisphere glaciation and the Pleistocene. The early Pliocene spatially heterogeneous patterns of carbon burial are thought to reflect the occurrence of mass-gravitational movements over the Benguela slope which resulted in disruption of the recorded biogenic production. This was followed (3.5–3 Ma) by an episode of peak carbonate accumulation over the whole margin and, subsequently, by the onset of Benguela provincialism into a northern and a southern sedimentary regime near 2 Ma. This mid and late Pliocene evolution is interpreted as a direct response to changes in the ventilation of bottom and intermediate waters, as well as to dynamics of the subtropical gyral circulation and associated wind stress.     

Three-dimensional numerical simulation of obfique wave action on vertical walls

A three-dimensional numerical model based on the potential theory was developed to study the oblique wave action on vertical walls. A source term inside the domain was used to generate incident waves and outgoing waves were dissipated by sponge layers and transmitted by radiation boundaries. The finite difference method was used to solve the governing equations and boundary conditions in the regular transformed domain in σ-coordinate. Satisfactory agreements between the numerical predictions and experimental results of wave force were obtained. It is concluded that the maximum wave force acting on the vertical walls is induced by the obliquely incident waves rather than the normally incident waves.     

The intertidal erosion rate of cohesive sediment: a case study from Long Island Sound

Over the past decades, many attempts have been made to generate useful bottom erosion models for the study of cohesive sediment movement. This study addresses some of the key questions involved in determining the functional relationship between erosion rate and bottom shear stress. Current, wave, and turbidity data were collected from a bottom mounted instrument array in a moderately energetic estuarine environment. The bottom shear stress was calculated from a wave–current interaction model. The erosion rate was derived from the observed sediment concentration using a vertical mixing model. Examination of the relationship between erosion rate and bottom stress showed that the erosion rate varied at intertidal frequency. When averaged over the tidal fluctuation, the erosion rate remained approximately constant at low stress, but increased sharply when the shear stress rose above a critical value. This suggests two-stage erosion. The bed has a layered structure, in which a thin layer of loose, high water content material overlies a more consolidated bed. The top layer of high water content material (fluff) was easily disturbed and re-suspended by tidal currents, but the consolidated bottom layer was eroded only under conditions of high shear stress.