Reproductive Cycle of the Caribbean Feather Star Nemaster rubiginosa (Echinodermata: Crinoidea)

Abstract. The reproductive cycle of the comatulid crinoid Nemaster rubiginosa from Discovery Bay, Jamaica is described histologically. The cycle is annual and may be divided into (1) a "resting" phase (summer) in which most adults possess immature, unsexable gonads, (2) a recovery phase (early fall) marked by the re-initiation of gametogenesis and rapid gonadal growth, (3) a breeding phase (late fall and winter) during which the gonads are mature and repeated spawning likely takes place, and (4) a post-spawning phase (spring) during which relict gametes are removed from the shrinking gonads. Although unsexable individuals predominate during the "resting" phase, a small proportion of the adult population is unsexable at all times of the year. The reproductive condition of animals in the same month in two successive years was very similar, suggesting that the timing of reproduction is quite predictable from year to year. The re-initiation of gametogenesis in the early fall is correlated with both rising sea temperature and shortening daylength, and the October to March breeding season corresponds to the period of short daylengths at the study site. The well-defined and synchronized annual reproductive cycle of Nemaster rubiginosa contrasts with the more prolonged and variable reproductive cycles reported for other tropical crinoids and points to a diversity of breeding patterns among tropical crinoids.     

欧氏六线鱼Hexagrammos otakii Jordan & Starks性腺发育的周年变化研究

根据对青岛附近水域欧氏六线鱼（已达性成熟年龄）性腺周年宏观和组织学观察，性腺发育可分为：①重复发育Ⅱ期；②开始成熟期；③接近成熟期；④临产期或产卵期；⑤产后期。按性腺指数变化并结合性腺组织切片确定，欧氏六线鱼性腺发育在青岛海区一年一个周期，繁殖期在１０月下旬至１２月，繁殖盛期是１１月下旬至１２月中旬。     

Deep ocean fluxes and their link to surface ocean processes and the biological pump

Intense studies of upper and deep ocean processes were carried out in the Northwestern Indian Ocean (Arabian Sea) within the framework of JGOFS and related projects in order to improve our understanding of the marine carbon cycle and the ocean’s role as a reservoir for atmospheric CO₂. The results show a pronounced monsoon-driven seasonality with enhanced organic carbon fluxes into the deep-sea during the SW Monsoon and during the early and late NE Monsoon north of 10°N. The productivity is mainly regulated by inputs of nutrients from subsurface waters into the euphotic zone via upwelling and mixed layer-deepening. Deep mixing introduces light limitation by carrying photoautotrophic organisms below the euphotic zone during the peak of the NE Monsoon. Nevertheless, deep mixing and strong upwelling during the SW Monsoon provide an ecological advantage for diatoms over other photoautotrophic organisms by increasing the silica concentrations in the euphotic zone. When silica concentrations fall below 2 μmol l⁻¹, diatoms lose their dominance in the plankton community. During diatom-dominated blooms, the biological pathway of uptake of CO₂ (the biological pump) appears to be more efficient than during blooms of other organisms, as indicated by organic carbon to carbonate carbon (rain) ratios. Due to the seasonal alternation of diatom and non-diatom dominated exports, spatial variations of the annual mean rain ratios are hardly discernible along the main JGOFS transect.Data-based estimates of the annual mean impact of the biological pump on the fCO₂ in the surface water suggest that the biological pump reduces the increase of fCO₂ in the surface water caused by intrusion of CO₂-enriched subsurface water by 50–70%. The remaining 30 to 50% are attributed to CO₂ emissions into the atmosphere. Rain ratios up to 60% higher in river-influenced areas off Pakistan and in the Bay of Bengal than in the open Arabian Sea imply that riverine silica inputs can further enhance the impact of the biological pump on the fCO₂ in the surface water by supporting diatom blooms. Consequently, it is assumed that reduced river discharges caused by the damming of major rivers increase CO₂ emission by lowering silica inputs to the Arabian Sea; this mechanism probably operates in other regions of the world ocean also.     

Model simulations of carbon sequestration in the northwest Pacific by patch fertilization

Iron fertilization of nutrient-rich surface waters of the ocean is one possible way to help slow the rising levels of atmospheric CO₂ by sequestering it in the oceans via biological carbon export. Here, I use an ocean general circulation model to simulate a patch of nutrient depletion in the subpolar northwest Pacific under various scenarios. Model results confirm that surface fertilization is an inefficient way to sequester carbon from the atmosphere (Gnanadesikan et al., 2003), since only about 20% of the exported carbon comes initially from the atmosphere. Fertilization reduces future production and thus CO₂ uptake by utilizing nutrients that would otherwise be available later. Effectively, this can be considered as leakage when compared to a control run. This “effective” leakage and the actual leakage of sequestered CO₂ cause a significant, rapid decrease in carbon retention (only 30–45% retained after 10 years and less than 20% after 50 years). This contrasts markedly with the almost 100% retention efficiency for the same duration using the same model, when carbon is disposed directly into the northwest Pacific (Matsumoto and Mignone, 2005). As a consequence, the economic effectiveness of patch fertilization is poor in two limiting cases of the future price path of carbon. Sequestered carbon in patch fertilization is lost to the atmosphere at increasingly remote places as time passes, which would make monitoring exceedingly difficult. If all organic carbon from one-time fertilization reached the ocean bottom and remineralized there, acidification would be about −0.05 pH unit with O₂ depletion about −20 μmol kg⁻¹. These anomalies are probably too small to seriously threaten deep sea biota, but they are underestimated in the model because of its large grid size. The results from this study offer little to advocate purposeful surface fertilization as a serious means to address the anthropogenic carbon problem.     

Factors affecting spatial and temporal variability in material exchange between the Southern Everglades wetlands and Florida Bay (USA)

Physical and biological processes controlling spatial and temporal variations in material concentration and exchange between the Southern Everglades wetlands and Florida Bay were studied for 2.5 years in three of the five major creek systems draining the watershed. Daily total nitrogen (TN), and total phosphorus (TP) fluxes were measured for 2 years in Taylor River, and ten 10-day intensive studies were conducted in this creek to estimate the seasonal flux of dissolved inorganic nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), total organic carbon (TOC), and suspended matter. Four 10-day studies were conducted simultaneously in Taylor, McCormick, and Trout Creeks to study the spatial variation in concentration and flux. The annual fluxes of TOC, TN, and TP from the Southern Everglades were estimated from regression equations. The Southern Everglades watershed, a 460-km² area that includes Taylor Slough and the area south of the C-111 canal, exported 7.1 g C m⁻², 0.46 g N m⁻², and 0.007 g P m⁻², annually. Everglades P flux is three to four orders of magnitude lower than published flux estimates from wetlands influenced by terrigenous sedimentary inputs. These low P flux values reflect both the inherently low P content of Everglades surface water and the efficiency of Everglades carbonate sediments and biota in conserving and recycling this limiting nutrient. The seasonal variation of freshwater input to the watershed was responsible for major temporal variations in N, P, and C export to Florida Bay; approximately 99% of the export occurred during the rainy season. Wind-driven forcing was most important during the later stages of the dry season when low freshwater head coincided with southerly winds, resulting in a net import of water and materials into the wetlands. We also observed an east to west decrease in TN:TP ratio from 212:1 to 127:1. Major spatial gradients in N:P ratios and nutrient concentration and flux among the creek were consistent with the westward decrease in surface water runoff from the P-limited Everglades and increased advection of relatively P-rich Gulf of Mexico (GOM) waters into Florida Bay. Comparison of measured nutrient flux from Everglades surface water inputs from this study with published estimates of other sources of nutrients to Florida Bay (i.e. atmospheric deposition, anthropogenic inputs from the Florida Keys, advection from the GOM) show that Everglades runoff represents only 2% of N inputs and 0.5% of P input to Florida Bay.     

9810号台风期间厦门近岸海域磷的分布特征

于1998年10号台风期间及台风解除后一周内，对九龙江口和西海域表层水中总磷（TP）、溶解态无机磷（DIP）、溶解态有机磷（DOP）、颗粒态磷（PP）、颗粒态无机磷（PIP）和颗粒态有机磷（POP）进行了为期9d（10月26日至11月3日）的现场观测。根据观测结果，讨论了台风对上述各形态磷的分布特征的影响，认为台风伴随的增水、入海径流量的骤增和底质再悬浮的加剧导致表层水体中各形态磷含量的短期增加。     

海冰板的环形屈曲的压缩破坏

在轴对称条件下，给出海冰板的环向屈曲面临载荷，从细观力学的观点分析了微裂纹开裂的条件，扩展方向并给出绕海洋平台柱腿冰的损伤区的尺度。所给出的临界半径是一个与冰材料力学特征，冰的微结构参数一海洋平台柱腿半径相关的特征参数。对现场所观察和测量的结构给出了解释和定量分析。     

利用GPS组合观测值探测与修复周跳算法实现

本文在目前常用的周跳探测和修复方法的基础上,根据相位减伪距组合,Melbourne-Wübbena组合,电离层残差组合三种GPS组合观测值优缺点互补,将这三种组合观测值有机结合产生可靠的探测与修复周跳算法并用程序实现,通过实例分析证明此算法能够探测和修复任意大小的周跳。     

矿物材料学的内涵与特征

经过20余年的研究与发展,矿物材料学已经成为材料科学与工程中一个相对独立和完善的组成部分,由于其定义、内涵与特征等基本问题与材料科学的从属性和独特性,多年的研究认为:矿物材料学是研究矿物材料的组成与结构、制备与合成、性能和使用效能以及矿物原料性质与特点等五要素及其相互关系和规律的一门学科.这五要素是具有内部互相联系和作用的有机整体,研究这五要素并了解它们之间的相互关系和规律构成了矿物材料学的内涵.矿物原料性质与特点是其他四要素的基本前提或重要基础,矿物原料及其与其他四要素的关系以及矿物在其他四要素中的关键性都体现了矿物材料学的矿物科学属性,正是因为兼具材料科学属性和矿物科学属性的矿物材料学这一重要特征使其有别于其他学科,而具有了理论及实用价值.     

基于钻孔数据的三维地质建模与可视化研究

三维地质模型能够完整准确地表达复杂地质现象的边界条件及地质体内含的各种地质构造,直观地再现地质单元的空间展布及其相互关系,最大限度地提高地质分析的直观性和准确性,因此三维地质建模已引起地质、采矿、岩土工程等诸多领域的日益重视。笔者在综合考察多种建模方法的基础上,结合工程实践,提出了一种实用的工程地质三维建模实施方法。该方法以钻孔资料和地质剖面数据为三维地质建模的源数据,允许用户手工修正模型剖面地层分界线,从而实现对建模过程的干预和控制,克服了单纯依靠钻孔数据建模结果不精确且难以修正的问题。最后,通过一个研究实例展示了该方法的实际建模效果。