Ecological thresholds of phytoplankton community across environmental gradients in the harmful algal blooms-frequently-occurring,subtropical coastal waters,East China Sea

Phytoplankton communities can response immediately and directly to environmental changes,and thus have been applied as reliable biotic indicators in aquatic systems.This study provided insights into the relationships concerning ecological thresholds of phytoplankton communities and individual taxon in response to environmental changes in coastal waters of northern Zhejiang Province,East China Sea.Results demonstrated that there existed seasonal variations of phytoplankton community ecological thresholds of which spring being higher than those in summer.As for individual species,Prorocentrum donghaiense and Noctiluca scintillans were identified as the most tolerant and sensitive indicator species in spring and summer,respectively.They exhibited strong indications in response to environmental changes.These findings highlighted that phytoplankton community structure in this region was stable when environmental gradients were below the thresholds of sensitive species,whereas potential harmful algal blooms may occur when environmental gradients exceeded the thresholds of tolerant species.     

Elevational patterns of abundant and rare bacterial diversity and composition in mountain streams in the southeast of the Tibetan Plateau

Elevational gradients are powerful ‘natural laboratory' for testing the responses of microbes to geophysical influences. Microbial communities are normally composed of a few abundant and many rare taxa. Abundant and rare taxa play different ecological roles in kinds of environments, but how their diversity and composition patterns response to elevation gradients is still poorly elucidated. In this study, we investigated the elevational patterns of abundant and rare bacterial diversity and composition in a mountain stream from 712 to 3435 m at Gangrigabu Mountain on the Tibetan Plateau, China. Our results revealed abundant and rare bacteria had similar decreasing elevation trend of alpha diversity, and both of them showed a significant elevational distance-decay relationship. However, the turnover rate of the elevational distance-decay of rare bacteria was higher than that of abundant bacteria. The species-abundance distribution patterns of rare taxonomic composition were associated with the elevational gradient, while most of abundant bacterial clades did not display any relationships with elevation.Our results suggested that rare bacteria were more sensitive to changes in elevation gradient.     

Radial Permeability Measurements for Shale Using Variable Pressure Gradients

Shale gas is becoming an important component of the global energy supply, with permeability a critical controlling factor for long-term gas production. Obvious deviation may exist between helium permeability determined using small pressure gradient(SPG) methods and methane permeability obtained under actual field production with variable pressure gradients(VPG). In order to more accurately evaluate the matrix permeability of shale, a VPG method using real gas(rather than He) is established to render permeability measurements that are more representative of reservoir conditions and hence response. Dynamic methane production experiments were performed to measure permeability using the annular space in the shale cores. For each production stage, boundary pressure is maintained at a constant and the gas production with time is measured on the basis of volume change history in the measuring pump. A mathematical model explicitly accommodating gas desorption uses pseudo-pressure and pseudo-time to accommodate the effects of variations in pressuredependent PVT parameters. Analytical and semi-analytical solutions to the model are obtained and discussed. These provide a convenient approach to estimate radial permeability in the core by nonlinear fitting to match the semi-analytical solution with the recorded gas production data. Results indicate that the radial permeability of the shale determined using methane is in the range of 1×10-6– 1×10-5 mD and decreases with a decrease in average pore pressure. This is contrary to the observed change in permeability estimated using helium. Bedding geometry has a significant influence on shale permeability with permeability in parallel bedding orientation larger than that in perpendicular bedding orientation. The superiority of the VPG method is confirmed by comparing permeability test results obtained from both VPG and SPG methods. Although several assumptions are used, the results obtained from the VPG method with reservoir gas are much closer to reality and may be directly used for actual gas production evaluation and prediction, through accommodating realistic pressure dependent impacts.     

Spatial distribution of zooplankton in the intertidal marsh creeks of the Yangtze River Estuary,China

Zooplankton are important grazers of primary production within intertidal marshes and are the optimal prey of higher trophic consumers; however, the patterns of their spatial distribution in marsh creeks are rarely reported. The zooplankton in the intertidal creeks with different salinities at Dongtan marshes of the Yangtze River Estuary was surveyed. The mean zooplankton densities in the intertidal creeks were 53,638 ind. m⁻³ in April and 132,916 ind. m⁻³ in July, respectively, which were as high as in the near-shore subtidal waters of the Yangtze River Estuary. This high abundance implied the important roles of zooplankton in the matter flux between marshes and near-shore waters through complex intertidal creek systems. Zooplankton total densities changed significantly from northern to southern creeks. ANOSIM and CCA analyses revealed that the zooplankton community structure were significantly different among the northern, eastern and southern creeks, and between two sampling seasons. Salinity accounted for most of the spatial variation of zooplankton community, whereas water temperature, chlorophyll a concentration, and pH were the main reasons of the temporal variation observed. Copepods were the most abundant zooplankton group. A total of 24 copepod species, belonging to 15 families and 20 genera, were recorded. Planktonic copepods preferred the northern and eastern creeks, with higher densities in July than in April, while benthic copepods predominated only in the northern creeks in April. Since the role of benthic and planktonic copepods may differ in transporting nutrients in the intertidal creeks, it is suggested that the variations in their distribution may influence the ecological functions of zooplankton in the estuarine matter fluxes both spatially and temporally.     

Spatial and temporal variation of picoplanktic cyanobacteria population in a density stratified estuary,and the introduction of a cellular gradient number

Spatial and temporal variations in the distribution of the marine picoplanktic cyanobacteria population and mixing conditions were found in the Ebro River estuary outflow to the Mediterranean Sea in Spain. Six sampling surveys were undertaken between July 1999 and February 2000 for distances up to 15 km from the river mouth. Measurements were taken of flow velocity, salinity, temperature, depth and picocyanobacteria (PCB) abundances. Gradient Richardson (Rig) and Reynolds (Re) numbers were determined to evaluate hydrodynamics. In summer, large values of Rig arise from the small flow rates, and small values of velocity shear between the surface fresh water layer and the bottom saline layer; conversely, in winter the large flow rates and attendant large velocity shears between the layers give rise to small values of Rig. Flow conditions in the fall are an intermediate case between the summer and winter cases. Vertical abundance distributions were resolved through the river water, interfacial region, and the bottom salt wedge; longitudinal gradients of PCB abundances were also resolved. Seasonal differences in the PCB abundance values were observed. Analysis of cell numbers (C) showed that the variable dC/dS, the dependence of cell number upon salinity gradient (dS) was critical. A non-dimensional number; the cellular gradient number (Cg) is introduced. Cg has useful biological interpretations that can potentially be included in ecological modeling. For example, Cg = 1 pertains to perfect adaptability of the organism to adjust to changing environmental conditions, whereas Cg = 0 describes total mortality. For a system with strong advection there is insufficient time for cells to adapt to the changing environment, and so those cell counts are unchanged. This is the case for the Ebro estuary in winter as advection of salinity (and hence PCB abundance) dominates the other loss processes for large flow rates.     

A finite volume upwind scheme for the solution of the linear advection–diffusion equation with sharp gradients in multiple dimensions

A finite volume upwind numerical scheme for the solution of the linear advection equation in multiple dimensions on Cartesian grids is presented. The small-stencil, Modified Discontinuous Profile Method (MDPM) uses a sub-cell piecewise constant reconstruction and additional information at the cell interfaces, rather than a spatial extension of the stencil as in usual methods. This paper presents the MDPM profile reconstruction method in one dimension and its generalization and algorithm to two- and three-dimensional problems. The method is extended to the advection–diffusion equation in multiple dimensions. The MDPM is tested against the MUSCL scheme on two- and three-dimensional test cases. It is shown to give high-quality results for sharp gradients problems, although some scattering appears. For smooth gradients, extreme values are best preserved with the MDPM than with the MUSCL scheme, while the MDPM does not maintain the smoothness of the original shape as well as the MUSCL scheme. However the MDPM is proved to be more efficient on coarse grids in terms of error and CPU time, while on fine grids the MUSCL scheme provides a better accuracy at a lower CPU.     

An iterative simultaneous solution of the equations of statistical equilibrium and radiative transfer in the comoving frame

A direct iteration has been performed to obtain a simultaneous solution of the equations of line transfer in an expanding spherically symmetric atmosphere in the comoving frame with statistical equilibrium for a non-LTE, two-level atom. The solution converges in three or four iterations to an accuracy of 1 per cent of the ratio of the population densities of the two levels. As initial values, the upper level population was set equal to zero or to the LTE densities. The final solution on convergence indicates enhanced population of these levels over the initial values assumed, Large velocity gradients enhance this effect whereas large geometrical sizes of the atmospheres tend to reduce it.     

Effects of topography and land use on woody plant species composition and beta diversity in an arid Trans-Himalayan landscape,Nepal

Distribution patterns of plant species are believed to be impacted by small-scale habitat heterogeneity. However, there have been few comparative studies examining how woody vegetation composition and diversity varies with aspects of different orientations in the Trans-Himalayan region at a local scale. Here, we examined the effects of incoming solar radiation on variation in woody species composition and compared the diversity between the northeast- and southwest-facing slopes in a Trans-Himalayan valley of Nepal. We also examined the implicit interactions between slope orientation and land use in determining the compositional variations between the slopes. We selected two pairs of northeast- and southwest-facing slopes where the first pair has a similar land use and differs in exposure only（Pisang site） while the other pair has clear differences in land use in addition to slope exposure（Braka site）. In each site, we sampled 72 plots（36 on each slope） in which the presence and absence of woody species, environmental variables, and disturbance were recorded. Correspondence Analysis（CA） results suggested that the woody species composition significantly varied between northeast- and southwest-facing slopes at both sites, and was significantly correlated with measured environmental variables such as radiation index, altitude, and canopy openness. In the Braka site,mean alpha diversity was significantly higher on southwest-facing slopes. In contrast, beta diversity and gamma diversity were greater on northeast-facing slopes at both sites. Our results suggest that topographic variables（e.g., radiation index） affect species composition between the slopes, likely due to their influence on small scale abiotic environmental variables. However, the effects of land use, such as livestock browsing/grazing may interact with the effects of slope exposure, effectively reducing differences in species composition within slopes but enhancing the differences in beta diversity between contrasting slopes in the Br     

磁总场梯度数据三维反演方法及应用

磁总场三方位梯度数据相对于总场数据包含更丰富的异常信息,将梯度数据应用于三维磁化率反演中,可以更准确地描述异常体。本文采用最小模型结构反演方法进行三维磁化率反演成像,并采用对数障碍法对磁化率的反演取值范围进行约束。通过模型试验,对磁总场异常数据及其三轴梯度数据进行单独反演、联合反演,结果表明三轴梯度联合反演结果可以更好地刻画异常体形态,更有效地分辨邻近异常体,反演物性更合乎实际。将此反演技术应用于大冶铁矿高精度航磁数据反演解释,取得了较好的应用效果。     

利用非平衡态温度测井数据估算地温梯度

掌握真实地温梯度对于深入了解易受温压场控制的天然气水合物赋存状态具有重要意义。在南海天然气水合物钻探区获取的地温梯度主要以海底表层的热流探针方式为主,由于海底表层尚未压实,地层物理属性多呈现高渗透性,易受到海底底流影响,导致了部分地温梯度无法推算到较深地层。而另一方面,井下原位温度测量虽然可获取真实的地温梯度,但其经济成本昂贵并且时效性低。为此本研究依据天然气水合物钻探井位单一非平衡态温度测井数据和钻井进程,在前人的数学模型基础上,尝试现场快速恢复地层地温梯度的操作,并利用有限的原位地温梯度进行对比分析。研究结果表明,该方法在一定程度上具有适用性,当测井温度变化率在较均匀层段（例如A-B段）,根据测井进程可大致估算具有参考意义的原始地温梯度。但应用该方法时也须谨慎,避免使用测井温度变化率在非均匀的数据段（例如B-C段）,因为模型中受到数学条件而忽略的多种不确定因素的权重,在外部参数环境波动较大时有可能增加,从而减弱了模拟过程中时间因子的主要作用量。