A MASCOTTE-based characterization of MCSs over Spain, 2000–2002

A 3-year Mesoscale Convective Systems (MCSs) database, which extends from 2000 to 2002, has been built for the Iberian Peninsula and the Balearic Islands using the objective method MASCOTTE (MAximum Spatial COrrelation Technique). It was originally developed to track the evolution of convective systems over the Amazon region; after modifications, it is able to track MCS evolution even with an hour and a half of missed images and provides essential information of both dynamical and morphological characteristics of MCSs. MASCOTTE is tested against a visual and subjective method, and is found to offer advantages such as automation and a simple and efficient operation that make it very useful for building large MCS databases.Thirty-five MCSs were found between June and October, most of them originated along the Mediterranean coast and near the Pyrenees, showing an increasing occurrence from June to September, when the maximum is found. The regions most influenced by MCS occurrences are Balearic Islands, Valencia, Catalonia, Murcia and the Basque Country. The MCSs tend to be small, short-lived and linear, usually moving eastward or northeastward with low velocities.The MCSs-associated precipitation presents high variability, ranging from 80 to 0 mm h⁻¹ as maximum hourly records. Two different convective regions are identified based on MCS behavior in extreme precipitation events: Northern Spain (the Basque Country) with abundant and continuous precipitation regime but little MCS influence, and the Mediterranean coast, where precipitation is sporadic but much more intense.     

南麂列岛自然保护区海域红色裸甲藻赤潮及其成因分析

2002年9月16～19日南麂列岛海域发生3km2 红褐色赤潮 ,其原因种为红色裸甲藻(GymnodiniumsanguineumHirasaka) ,密度高达4.6×105 个/L。赤潮发生时伴随细菌的大量繁殖 ,江浙沿岸流所携带的营养物质是本次赤潮发生的基础 ,森拉克台风是本次赤潮的重要诱因。南麂海域的赤潮多发季节为4～5月份 ,9～11月份发生赤潮的可能性也较大 ,大沙岙、马祖岙和火岙等水体交换相对较弱的岙口为赤潮多发区。为保护南麂列岛国家级海洋自然保护区珍稀海洋贝藻资源 ,需协调好保护和开发之间日益尖锐的矛盾 ,控制养殖业的发展规模和游客的数量。     

Subsidence of the Miyako‐Sone submarine carbonate platform,east of Miyako‐jima Island,northwestern Pacific Ocean

Bathymetric mapping and observations of the seafloor using a remotely operated vehicle (ROV, Hyper‐Dolphin 3K) were carried out on the slopes of the Miyako‐Sone submarine platform, east of Miyako‐jima in the Ryukyu Islands, northwestern Pacific Ocean. The bathymetric map indicates that terraces are present at water depths of approximately 140 m, 330 m, 400 m, and 680 m on the northwestern slope of the platform. A number of NW–SE trending lineaments, probably faults, extend perpendicular to the axis of the Ryukyu Island Arc. Two ROV surveys were conducted at water depths ranging from 519 m (on the slope) to 121 m (shallowest part of the platform). The surveys revealed that well‐indurated carbonate rocks are exposed at terrace margins and on upper slopes, and that the lower slopes are covered with modern sediments consisting of unconsolidated, coarse‐sand‐sized bioclastic carbonates. Calcareous nannofossils from the well‐indurated carbonate rocks indicate a Middle–Late Pleistocene age, which suggests that the rocks correlate with the Quaternary reef and fore‐reef deposits of the Ryukyu Group (Ryukyu Limestone) on the Ryukyu Islands. No siliciclastic deposits corresponding to the upper Miocene–lower Pleistocene Shimajiri Group (as exposed on Okinawa‐jima and Miyako‐jima islands) were recovered during the surveys. Coeval well‐indurated carbonate rocks, all of which formed in a similar sedimentary environment, have been downthrown towards the west due to displacements on the western sides of normal faults. Subsidence of the Miyako‐Sone submarine platform was the result of large vertical displacements on such normal faults. The timing of initial subsidence cannot be tightly constrained, but the presence of the youngest limestone at progressively lower levels towards the west suggests the subsidence continued until after 0.265 Ma.     

近50年来杭州湾七姊八妹列岛海域海床演变分析

七姊八妹列岛海域位于杭州湾南部的灰鳖洋内,除了岛礁周围局部存有深沟外,其余地区海床平缓.为了探究该海域海床演变情况,在了解杭州湾来水来沙特征基础上,分析了七姊八妹列岛海域的水动力、悬沙和底质分布特征.不同时期海图的对比分析表明,该海域近岸水深较小,人类活动频繁,围涂筑堤工程较多,一直处于淤积状态,属淤涨型岸滩,而离岸较远的海域,泥沙难于落淤而随潮反复搬运,基本处于冲淤平衡状态.1962～2008年这46 a间,七姊八妹列岛海域总体呈现与岸线走向一致的淤积、冲刷间隔分布的冲淤带.平均淤积厚度约2.2 m,淤积幅度约5.0 cm/a,大多数地方平均冲刷厚度约2.4 m,冲刷幅度约5.0 cm/a.这些特点与当地的水动力条件和泥沙沉积特性相一致.     

南沙群岛南永2井沉积层"红色事件"和"黑色事件"的成因探讨

南沙群岛南永2井的红色沉积层和黑色沉积层标志着两次异常事件,简称为“红色事件”和“黑色事件”。这两个特殊沉积层的主要特征是磁化率为正值、锰铝(黑色沉积)和铁铝(红色沉积)含量高。关于它们的成因主要有两种观点:一种是火山喷发或地震活动,另一种是气候突变。将红色沉积层和黑色沉积层与南海其它珊瑚礁钻井资料、南海及其周缘火山活动和深海沉积中的微玻陨石进行详细对比,并综合分析几种成因的可能性大小。“红色事件”和“黑色事件”在南海其它珊瑚礁钻井中的反映不明显或无反映,表明两事件的影响范围很有限。尽管南海周缘的一些火山活动期次、全球气候变化的一些代用指标和深海沉积中的微玻陨石层在时间上与“红”、“黑”两事件有较好的对比,成岩作用也能使某些沉积层位形成铁富集或锰富集,但综合考虑各个因素可以排除周缘火山喷发、气候突变、撞击事件及成岩作用等4种成因。火山或地震活动引起的铁或锰热泉上涌可以对“红”、“黑”两事件作出较好的解释,是可能性较大的成因。     

Evaluating techniques for mapping island vegetation from unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) images: Pixel classification,visual interpretation and machine learning approaches

We evaluate three approaches to mapping vegetation using images collected by an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) to monitor rehabilitation activities in the Five Islands Nature Reserve, Wollongong (Australia). Between April 2017 and July 2018, four aerial surveys of Big Island were undertaken to map changes to island vegetation following helicopter herbicide sprays to eradicate weeds, including the creeper Coastal Morning Glory (Ipomoea cairica) and Kikuyu Grass (Cenchrus clandestinus). The spraying was followed by a large scale planting campaign to introduce native plants, such as tussocks of Spiny-headed Mat-rush (Lomandra longifolia). Three approaches to mapping vegetation were evaluated, including: (i) a pixel-based image classification algorithm applied to the composite spectral wavebands of the images collected, (ii) manual digitisation of vegetation directly from images based on visual interpretation, and (iii) the application of a machine learning algorithm, LeNet, based on a deep learning convolutional neural network (CNN) for detecting planted Lomandra tussocks. The uncertainty of each approach was assessed via comparison against an independently collected field dataset. Each of the vegetation mapping approaches had a comparable accuracy; for a selected weed management and planting area, the overall accuracies were 82 %, 91 % and 85 % respectively for the pixel based image classification, the visual interpretation / digitisation and the CNN machine learning algorithm. At the scale of the whole island, statistically significant differences in the performance of the three approaches to mapping Lomandra plants were detected via ANOVA. The manual digitisation took a longer time to perform than others. The three approaches resulted in markedly different vegetation maps characterised by different digital data formats, which offered fundamentally different types of information on vegetation character. We draw attention to the need to consider how different digital map products will be used for vegetation management (e.g. monitoring the health individual species or a broader profile of the community). Where individual plants are to be monitored over time, a feature-based approach that represents plants as vector points is appropriate. The CNN approach emerged as a promising technique in this regard as it leveraged spatial information from the UAV images within the architecture of the learning framework by enforcing a local connectivity pattern between neurons of adjacent layers to incorporate the spatial relationships between features that comprised the shape of the Lomandra tussocks detected.     

Winds and sand movements in the Namib Sand Sea

Wind regimes in the vicinity of the Namib Sand Sea are high energy unimodal near the coast, becoming bimodal or complex inland. There is an overall decrease in wind energy and sand transport rates from south to north and west to east, such that sand moves from coastal and southern source areas to accumulate in the northern and central parts of the sand sea. Such a pattern can explain much of the observed spatial variability in dune types, sizes, and sediment characteristics and lends support to a climatic model of sand sea formation in this region. Seasonal and daily cycles of wind velocity and direction give rise to episodic sand transport, most of which is generated by winds of moderate velocity and frequency.     

Analysis of coprolites from the extinct mountain goat Myotragus balearicus

Humans colonized the Balearic Islands 5–4 ka ago. They arrived in a uniquely adapted ecosystem with the Balearic mountain goat Myotragus balearicus (Bovidae, Antilopinae, Caprini) as the only large mammal. This mammal went extinct rapidly after human arrival. Several hypotheses have been proposed to explain the extinction of M. balearicus. For the present study ancient DNA analysis (Sanger sequencing, Roche-454, Ion Torrent), and pollen and macrofossil analyses were performed on preserved coprolites from M. balearicus, providing information on its diet and paleo-environment. The information retrieved shows that M. balearicus was heavily dependent on the Balearic box species Buxus balearica during at least part of the year, and that it was most probably a browser. Hindcast ecological niche modelling of B. balearica shows that local distribution of this plant species was affected by climate changes. This suggests that the extinction of M. balearicus can be related to the decline and regional extinction of a plant species that formed a major component of its diet. The vegetation change is thought to be caused by increased aridity occurring throughout the Mediterranean. Previous hypotheses relating the extinction of M. balearicus directly to the arrival of humans on the islands must therefore be adjusted.     

南沙他国侵占岛礁战略价值及空间格局评价

从建岛潜力、岛礁辐射能力和岛礁承载能力3个方面选取26个指标,采用主客观综合赋权法确定各因子权重,利用线性加权法获得被越南、菲律宾、马来西亚、文莱等国所侵占的南沙44个岛礁的战略价值,并对结果进行空间插值,分析其空间格局特征。结果表明：1）被马来西亚侵占的弹丸礁、越南侵占的南威岛、以及菲律宾侵占的中业岛,其战略价值位列前3,评价得分分别为100、98.42和97.09。2）岛礁辐射能力空间分布格局呈现“NW—SE条带式”,“最高”和“高”等级的区域由研究区西北延伸至东南,然后向东北、西南两侧递减,辐射能力格局中有2个核心区域和2个次级核心区域。承载能力空间分布格局呈现“横向条带式”,由北向南越来越低,有1个核心区域和2个次级核心区域。建岛潜力空间分布格局有3个核心区域及2个次级核心区域。3）岛礁战略价值空间分布格局有3个核心区域,分布于研究区中部、北部及南部,与越南、菲律宾、马来西亚密切相关的核心区域各有1个。越南侵占岛礁最多且空间分布较广,有2个次级核心区域也与越南密切相关,越占岛礁若进一步建设,将形成多核心协同的战略格局,需密切关注。     

Terrestrial sensitivity to abrupt cooling recorded by aeolian activity in northwest Ohio, USA

Lower slopes of the Sandia Mountains are characterized by granitic corestone topography and weathering-limited slopes with thin grusy colluvium and weakly developed soils. In contrast, thick soils with illuvial clay and pedogenic carbonate have developed below aplite outcrops. Aplite is resistant to chemical decomposition, but physically weathers to blocky clasts that enhance surface roughness and erosional resistance of colluvium, promoting accumulation of eolian fines. Thick B horizons on aplite slopes indicate limited erosion and prolonged periods of stability and soil development. Accretion of eolian material limits runoff and prevents attainment of a steady-state balance between soil production and downslope transport.