Sedimentary record of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in a sediment core from the Pearl River Estuary, South China

Owing to the hydrodynamic and sedimentation conditions, the western shoal of the Pearl River Estuary (PRE) is known to be an important sink of terrestrial substances including particle-associated pollutants from the Pearl River Delta (PRD) region. In this study, we report the sedimentary record of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) during the 20(th) century in a sediment core from the western shoal of the PRE. The summation PAH concentration ranged from 59 ng g(-1) to 330 ng g(-1) in the core with two distinct peaks. An initial increase of summation PAH concentration was found around the 1860s. The amounts of PAHs remained relatively constant for roughly 100 years, followed by the first peak in the 1950s. Then, there was a decrease in PAH concentration and flux in the 1960s and 1970s. A sharp increase of PAH concentration was observed in the early 1980s with a maximum concentration in the 1990s. The PAH diagnostic ratios indicated that the PAHs in the sediment core were mainly of pyrolytic origin, and that atmospheric deposition and land runoff may serve as the important pathways for PAHs input to the sediment. The Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was used as an index of socioeconomic development in the PRD region, which was correlated positively with the changes of PAH concentration and flux in the sediment core. The rapid increase in vehicle numbers and energy consumption in the region in the last two decades may have contributed to the rapid PAH increase since the early 1980s. The results clearly elucidated the impact of regional economic development on the estuarine environment.     

关于印度洋地震海啸紧急救援的两个问题

海退是海浪剧变的重要信号,发生海退现象之后,应当立即撤离沿海,跑到高地上去,才能避免人员的重大伤亡。红树林在印度洋地震海啸中起到减缓作用。红树林生态系统是生产率最高的海洋四大自然生态系统之一,是国际上生物多样性保护和湿地保护对象,被誉为“地球的肾”。在全球红树林锐减的情况下,广西防城港红树林项目的启动是被全球环境基金会称为典范。     

Management of exogenous threats to Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic Islands: balancing risks from TBT and non-indigenous marine organisms

The discovery of high levels of tributyltin compounds in Antarctic marine sediments has prompted managers to consider the banning of such substances in this region. We propose that the banning of antifouling coatings may result in an increase in the risk of non-indigenous species invasions. Our studies show that un-treated vessels carry a more diverse community of fouling organisms than treated hulls on which fouling is restricted to specific untreated niches. Up to 40% of the species recruited to the hulls of Southern Ocean vessels are species with invasive histories. Viable fouling assemblages can survive prolonged voyages to high-latitude coastlines, yet passage through sea-ice may remove fouling communities due to mechanical abrasion reducing the hazard of introductions to ice-bound coastlines. The banning of antifouling compounds may be of particular concern for the ice-free sub-Antarctic islands which represent a common anchorage point for vessels on-route to Antarctica.     

Processes and mechanisms of dynamic channel adjustment to delta progradation: the case of the mouth channel of the Yellow River,China

This paper analyses the processes and mechanisms of a three‐stage channel adjustment over a cycle of the Yellow River mouth channel extension based on data comprising hydrologic measurements and channel geometric surveys. Rapid siltation in the mouth channel takes place in the young stage when the channel is being built by deposits and in the old stage when the channel cannot further adjust itself to keep sediment transport in equilibrium. It is disclosed that the bankfull width–depth ratio, bed material size and slope decrease in the young and mature stages but do not change in the old stage. The reduction of bankfull width–depth ratio and bed material size during the young and mature stages is found to be able to offset the effect of the slope reduction on sediment transport due to continuous mouth progradation. They reach their limits in old stage, and a constant slope is kept by unceasing sediment accumulation. The grain size composition of incoming sediment and the fining mechanism are responsible for the occurrence of lower limit of bed material size. The reason for the existence of a limit of bankfull cross‐sectional shape is that the large flows can fully transport the sediment load they are carrying, and siltation in the channel in the old stage takes place mainly in the low flows. It is suggested that the bankfull discharge plays an important role in shaping the channel but that the entire channel form is the product of both the large and low flows plus the effects of interaction between them. Channel pattern change shows a process from a braided pattern in the young stage to a straight pattern in the mature and old stages, and the straight channel becomes gradually sinuous. The occurrence and transformation of the channel patterns are supported by two planform predictors, but are also facilitated by some other conditions. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

基山砂体沉积成因探讨

惠民凹陷是济扬坳陷主要生油凹陷之一,是典型的陆相断陷盆地。基山砂体是惠民凹陷在断陷期发育的一套物源来自于西北部宁津凸起的三角洲一浊积扇沉积体系;分布范围广,横跨滋镇洼陷、中央隆起带和临南洼陷田家一带;主体沿着宿安沟呈西北向东南方向展布,在临商地区发育类型丰富的油气藏,具有巨大的勘探潜力。近年来基山砂体油藏勘探取得较大成功,但砂体的物源、沉积相一直是争论的焦点,本文主要针对这2点进行了探讨,并将研究结论应用于勘探实践中,取得了显著的效果。     

Sedimentary evidence of Late Holocene human activity in the Pearl River delta,China

This study examines the sedimentary evidence of human activities during the last 4000 years in the Pearl River deltaic area. The analyses are focused on indentifying agricultural signatures present in the sedimentary record and establishing the timing of a change from a simple, rice‐based agriculture to a more advanced, diverse agriculture. The examination is based on modern sediment and plant samples and a sediment core collected from the deltaic area. The analyses include particle size and diatom analysis to determine the environmental conditions that were associated with the period of human activities. Organic carbon isotope ratios and major metal elements reveal an expansion in commercial crop production and metal smelting in the Pearl River delta area about 2000 years ago. The input of organic matter from introduced sugarcane, a C4 plant, elevates the bulk organic carbon isotope values in the estuarine sediments above that represented by other common agricultural crops in the study area, including rice, banana and lotus, which are all C3 plants. The increase in bulk organic isotopic value coincides with the rise in the concentration of copper, iron and lead in the sedimentary sequence, suggesting a wider use of metal tools. These results indicate that advanced agriculture started about 2000 years ago as an expansion in human population took place in the area. This record also provides sedimentary evidence that help ascertain the timing and type of human activities that are linked to subsequent land reclamation on the deltaic plain, resulting in rapid shoreline advancement in the last 2000 years. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

珠三角地区晚第四纪以来气候变化和海平面升降的耦合效应——兼论珠江三角洲盆地及其周缘断裂的活动性

珠江三角洲第四纪地层可划分为三个沉积旋回,分别对应于三次海水进退旋回和三次气候暖冷交替旋回;三角洲盆地边界及其内部的分割性断裂构造有同沉积活动属性,地表探测难以找出其活动的直接地质依据;本区晚更新世晚期地层的古气候记录暗示,地球演化本身正在使现今气温逐渐升高,其力量远超过人类的影响。     

Stratigraphic signatures due to flood deposition near the Rhône River: Gulf of Lions,northwest Mediterranean Sea

Episodic flood delivery provides the bulk of the solid discharge for many small to moderate river systems, including the Rhône River in the northwestern Mediterranean. Several recent studies have demonstrated that the fate of this sediment depends on the coherence between river discharge and energetic ocean conditions. The deposition of flood sediment in the ocean can be confirmed by common signatures of episodic discharge events: presence of ⁷Be, physical stratification, and elevated clay content associated with low ²¹⁰Pb activities.     

洪泽湖和淮河入洪泽湖河口的形成与演化

根据历史文献资料和前人研究成果,对洪泽湖和淮河入洪泽湖河口及三角洲的形成与演化进行了探讨。结果表明,洪泽湖是明,清两代治黄,保运工程的产物和组成部分,现代洪泽湖主要形成于１７世纪的靳治水时期,其形成后百余年中湖水位变化总趋势是不断上升,同时具有大幅度的年内年龄变化。     

Spatiotemporal characteristics of the displacement field revealed with principal component analysis and the mode-rotation technique

Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to the displacement field recorded at 147 GPS stations in the Kanto-Tokai district, Japan, for the period from January 1999 to February 2003. Some prominent geophysical events occurred during this period. Using PCA, we attempted to decompose the displacement field into some representative spatial modes and their corresponding temporal modes to quantitatively extract the primary geophysical events that have caused rapid crustal deformation in this region. The displacement field was roughly decomposed into modes corresponding to the following three major events: (1) The Miyake-Kozu volcanic event, which occurred in the region south of Tokyo in 2000. It included large-scale dyke intrusion and intensive earthquake swarm between the Miyakejima and Kozushima islands. (2) The Tokai slow-slip event, which is considered to have begun just after the Miyake-Kozu volcanic event and is ongoing as of November 2005. It occurred on the boundary between the subducting Philippine Sea Plate and the overriding Eurasian (Amurian) Plate in the Tokai district. (3) The Boso slow-slip event, which lasted for approximately 10 days in October 2002. It occurred on the boundary between the subducting Pacific Plate and the overriding North American Plate near the Boso Peninsula. In the decomposition process, we combined the mode-rotation technique with ordinary PCA. This is because PCA causes contamination between modes, i.e., a mode obtained with PCA is contaminated by other modes. For example, the first principal mode corresponding to the Miyake-Kozu volcanic event, which is by far the largest in magnitude, was clearly seen in many other modes. In order to remove such contamination, we applied the mode-rotation technique, in which the principal axes derived from PCA are rotated so as to minimize the correlation coefficients between different temporal modes for a time period in which some prominent change occurs. Combining the mode-rotation technique with PCA exhibited a better performance in separating the displacement field.