Water Flow, Trophic Depletion, and Benthic Macrofauna Impoverishment in a Submarine Cave from the Western Mediterranean

Abstract. Biotic zonation and severe impoverishment of benthic macrofauna are two of the most conspicuous features of submarine caves. The prevailing explanation assumes trophic depletion caused by reduction of water flow. However, no isolation of water was found in the studied Catalan submarine cave, even in the wall microlayer. Fluorescein diffusion was so fast that it was detectable everywhere in the cave already only a few minutes after the injection. The rate of dissolution of plaster spheres was even greater in the cave than in a nearby tunnel – without benthic macrofauna impoverishment – showing a considerable water flow. The oxygen concentration of water in dialysis bags placed at varying distances from the cave walls showed that no wall microlayer gradients were present.
Biochemical gradients did not indicate any decrease in food supply. Although photosynthetic pigment concentration generally decreased inside the cave, and although the gradients were not linear but formed different patterns throughout the cave, the BOD₅, the POM, the C:N ratio, the [³H]-thymidine incorporation rate, and the ETS activity were higher in the inner part of the cave. There was an accumulation of detritic material and bacteria in the inner parts that constitute a plausible food supply for benthic macrofauna.
If neither water motion nor food supply can be invoked, research into the causes of zonation and disappearence of benthic macrofauna is proposed to be carried out on biotic interactions and behavioural processes.     

The role of sediments in the phosphorus cycle in Lake Lugano. II. Seasonal and spatial variability of microbiological processes at the sediment-water interface

P, Fe, Mn, and S species were analyzed in water samples from the sediment-water interface collected at four seasonally different times during the course of a year at two sampling sites in the southern basin of Lake Lugano (Lago di Lugano). The results reveal the strong influence of the biogeochemical processes in the sediment on the chemical composition of the lake water above. Consumption of oxygen and nitrate under oxic to microoxic conditions in the water column as well as sequential release of reduced manganese and iron under anoxic conditions was observed as a direct or indirect consequence of microbially mediated degradation of organic matter. The seasonal pattern observed for the release and the retainment of dissolved reduced iron and manganese correlates well with the one for dissolved phosphate. Iron, manganese and phosphorus cycling are coupled tightly in these sediments. Both sediment types act as sinks for hydrogen sulfide and sulfate. An inner-sedimentary sulfur cycle is proposed to couple iron, manganese and phosphorus cycling with the degradation of organic matter. Nutrient cycling at the sediment-water interface might thus be driven by a microbially regulated electron pumping mechanism. The results contribute to a better understanding of the role of sediment processes in the lake's internal phosphorus cycle and its seasonal dynamics.     

Lithospheric pressure–depth relationship in compressive regions of thickened crust

We investigate the pressure distribution with depth in regions undergoing horizontal shortening and experiencing crustal thickening both analytically and numerically. Our results show that, in a convergent tectonic setting, pressure can be considerably higher than lithostatic (the pressure resulting from the weight of the overburden). Increases in pressure with respect to lithostatic conditions result from both the contribution of horizontal stresses and the flexural vertical loads, the latter generated by the deflection of the upper crust and of the mantle because of the presence of topographic relief and a root, respectively. The contribution of horizontal stresses is particularly relevant to the upper crust and uppermost mantle, where rocks are thought to deform brittlely. In these domains, pressure gradients twice lithostatic can be achieved. The contribution of horizontal stresses is less important in the ductile domains as differential stresses are progressively relaxed; nevertheless, the effects are still noteworthy especially close to the brittle–ductile transition. Flexural vertical loads generated by the deflection of the upper crust and lithospheric mantle are relevant for rocks of the weaker lower crust. As a result of the combination of the two mechanisms, the pressure gradient varies vertically through the lithosphere, ranging from negative (inverted) gradients to gradients up to several times the lithostatic gradient. The pressure values range from one to two times the lithostatic values (1ρ gz to 2ρ gz ).     

Interactions between climate change and contaminants

There is now general consensus that climate change is a global threat and a challenge for the 21st century. More and more information is available demonstrating how increased temperature may affect aquatic ecosystems and living resources or how increased water levels may impact coastal zones and their management. Many ecosystems are also affected by human releases of contaminants, for example from land based sources or the atmosphere, which also may cause severe effects. So far these two important stresses on ecosystems have mainly been discussed independently. The present paper is intended to increase awareness among scientists, coastal zone managers and decision makers that climate change will affect contaminant exposure and toxic effects and that both forms of stress will impact aquatic ecosystems and biota. Based on examples from different ecosystems, we discuss risks anticipated from contaminants in a rapidly changing environment and the research required to understand and predict how on-going and future climate change may alter risks from chemical pollution.     

THE SENSITIVITY TEST STUDY OF AIR-SEA SURFACE FLUX MODEL

In this article, a sensitivity test of air-sea surface flux model was carried out with the field observation data of Project “South China Sea Air-Sea Flux Measurement in 2000”. The results show that sensible heat fluxes are sensitive to observation errors, increasing the error of model calculation; In contrast, the latent heat flux and momentum flux are not as sensitive to observation errors as the sensible heat, and their calculated results are reliable. The test result also verifies…     

海洋沉积物孔隙水硫酸盐浓度和碳同位素对天然气水合物的指示

硫酸根离子（SO42－）是海洋沉积物孔隙水中的重要组分之一。硫酸盐还原菌利用孔隙水中SO42－作为氧化剂氧化沉积物中有机质或甲烷，造成孔隙水中SO42－离子浓度降代，同时使溶解在孔隙水中CO2的碳同位素组成降低。研究表明，在有天然气水合物出现的地区，强烈的甲烷缺氧氧化作用使孔隙水SO42－浓度急剧下降，表现为海底沉积物中硫酸盐－甲烷界面（SMI）较浅。如布莱克海台区，SMI界面为5.1～23.9m，界面附近深解于孔隙水中CO2的δ13C值低达－39％。笔者发现南海北京海区几个站位具有类似于布莱克海台区的较浅的SMI界面（7.5～17.2m）和极低的δ13C值（－29‰），结合其他地质、地球物理和地球化学证据，推测这些站位处可能赋存有天然气水合物，值得开展进一步详查工作。     

Electrokinetic retention, migration and remediation of nitrates in silty loam soil under hydraulic gradients

Contamination of groundwater by nitrates leaching from intensive agricultural and livestock operations have become a major concern for surrounding communities that use groundwater as their water supply. High levels of nitrate in drinking water poses a significant risk to human health, i.e., methaemoglobinaemia (“blue baby” syndrome).

The traditional pump-and-treat method is ineffective in medium to fine-textured agricultural soils due to the low hydraulic conductivity. This paper presents the results of a laboratory experiment investigating the feasibility of using electrokinetic treatment in retaining, accumulating, moving and remediating nitrates in a silty loam soil under hydraulic gradients.

A hydraulic gradient of 1.25 was applied to the horizontal soil columns to simulate a groundwater movement system. The study was performed in two stages. During the first stage of the experiment, the anode located at the inflow end of the columns was able to retard the movement of nitrates even under a hydraulic gradient of 1.25. After 15 days of flow, the effluent nitrate concentration in the control column rose to 90 mg l⁻¹ while no nitrates were detected in the effluent from columns subjected to the electrokinetic treatment.

After 15 days, the polarity of the electrodes was switched and this second stage lasted another 20 days. The cathode near the inflow end promoted the conversion of nitrates entering the column to other forms. The anode near the outflow end promoted the migration and accumulation of negatively charged nitrate ions towards the outflow end. By the 12th day, the nitrate concentrations in the electrokinetically treated columns were brought down to <5 mg NO₃-N l⁻¹. Electrokinetic treatment retarded nitrate movement against a hydraulic gradient of 1.25 and effectively restored a medium-textured soil contaminated with NO₃-N.

The NO₂-N level remained below 1 mg l⁻¹ throughout the experiment. The hydraulic conductivity varied between 1.0E–7 and 3.6E–7 m s⁻¹. The current requirement varied between 3 and 6 mA.     

Computation of magnetic gradients due to three-dimensional bodies

Thc expressions of magnetic gradients due to 3-D homogeneous magnetized polyhedra are systematically derived and presented, fronr which the forward problem of magnetic gradients of an arbitrary shaped geological body is solved. It is shown that in the rotation of coordinate systems there is an essential difference between the transformation of magnetic fields and that of their gradients. In a 2-D coordinate system a unified transformation formula of any order gradients can he derived, hut cannot in the 3-D case. The calculations of synthetic models show the correctness of the expressioils or magnetic gradients. Project supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China.     

Dynamic Mechanism of Migmatization in the Dabie Complex,Northeastern Hubei,China1

Abstract On the basis of the detailed field work, compositions and contents of plagioclase and K-feldspar, determination of ordering degree, statistical analysis of plagioclase elongation index, mass-balance calculation and mineral spatial distribution and geochemistry, it is concluded that the migmatites in the Dabie complex are characterized by the presence of thermocenters. There are regular changes in mineral character in the migmatites from the centers outwards. The dominant genetic mechanism is anatexis and metasomatism, whose intensities decrease from the centers outwards. Finally, according to the simulated experiment on Liesegang' s rings and non-linear dynamics (dissipative structure theory), the dynamic mechanism of migmatization is profoundly expouded as consisting of the early-stage metasomatism induced by the thermal anomaly, the cardinal-stage anatexis induced by the early-stage matasomatism and finally the last-stage post-anatexis metasomatism.     

扰动重力梯度的非奇异表示

在局部指北坐标系中用地心球坐标来表示扰动重力梯度张量,当计算点趋近于两极时,由于Legendre函数的一阶和二阶导数以及分母上所含余纬的正弦函数,将导致扰动重力梯度张量的计算出现无穷大。因此,本文引入了Legendre函数的一阶和二阶导数以及 无奇异性的计算公式,并且进一步推导了 无奇异性的计算公式。在将Legendre函数的一阶和二阶导数以及 、 无奇异性的计算公式代入到扰动重力梯度张量各分量的求解中时,又充分考虑了m等于0,1,2以及其它量时的复杂情况,建立了扰动重力梯度张量各分量无奇异性的详细计算模型。通过模拟实验表明,本文所建立的详细计算模型不仅能够完全满足当前卫星重力梯度张量计算的精度要求,而且模型稳定、可靠、易于编程实现。