Non-destructive monitoring of trace element levels in short-tailed albatrosses (Phoebastria albatrus) and black-footed albatrosses (Phoebastria nigripes) from Torishima Island, Japan using eggs and blood

Concentrations of 18 trace elements (V, Cr, Mn, Co, Cu, Zn, Se, Rb, Sr, Mo, Ag, Cd, Sb, Cs, Ba, Hg, Tl and Pb) were determined in abandoned eggs of short-tailed albatrosses and abandoned eggs and blood of black-footed albatrosses from Torishima Island, Japan in 2002. Mercury concentration was highest among the toxic elements in egg content of both the two species. In some egg contents of black-footed albatrosses, Hg concentrations were higher than the threshold level that may cause decreased hatchability and aberrant nesting behavior in some avian species. Concentrations of Cd in egg content and Ba in egg content and shell increased with an increase in egg breadth/length ratio, whereas Hg in egg content showed an opposite trend in black-footed albatrosses. Since egg breadth/length ratio is known to increase with the age of mother bird, this result may imply that concentrations of these elements in eggs vary with age of mother bird. In blood of black-footed albatross chicks, concentration of Hg was highest among the toxic elements and the Hg concentration showed an increase in the later growth stages. In contrast, concentration of Sr in blood decreased with growth stage. Since the behaviour of Sr is similar to that of Ca in animals, it is conceivable that Sr was used along with Ca for the formation of bone.     

The GGOS as the backbone for global observing and local monitoring: A user driven perspective

A key geodetic contribution to both the three Global Observing Systems and initiatives like the European Global Monitoring for Environment and Security is an accurate, long-term stable, and easily accessible reference frame as the backbone. Many emerging scientific as well as non-scientific high-accuracy applications require access to an unique, technique-independent reference frame decontaminated for short-term fluctuations due to global Earth system processes. Such a reference frame can only be maintained and made available through an observing system such as the Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS), which is currently implemented and expected to provide sufficient information on changes in the Earth figure, its rotation and its gravity field. Based on a number of examples from monitoring of infrastructure, point positioning, maintenance of national references frames to global changes studies, likely future accuracy requirements for a global terrestrial reference frame are set up as function of time scales. Expected accuracy requirements for a large range of high-accuracy applications are less than 5 mm for diurnal and sub-diurnal time scales, 2–3 mm on monthly to seasonal time scales, better than 1 mm/year on decadal to 50 years time scales. Based on these requirements, specifications for a geodetic observing system meeting the accuracy requirements can be derived.     

A new approach of single epoch GPS posi- tioning for landslide monitoring

Introduction China is a country with many landslides and debris flows. These disasters bring out a large amount of losses of life and property. It is significant to predict landslide incident by monitoring the deformations of these landslides. At past, triangulation and trilateration are traditional tools, but it is very difficult for them to realize real-time monitoring, and it is more dangerous for obser- vation workers when the deformation becomes larger. Because of many advantages such as…     

Assessing the Comparability of Ammonium,Nitrate and Sulfate Concentrations Measured by Three Air Quality Monitoring Networks

Airborne fine particulate matter across the United States is monitored by different networks, the three prevalent ones presently being the Clean Air Status and Trend Network (CASTNet), the Interagency Monitoring of PROtected Visual Environment Network (IMPROVE) and the Speciation and Trend Network (STN). If combined, these three networks provide speciated fine particulate data at several hundred locations throughout the United States. Yet, differences in sampling protocols and samples handling may not allow their joint use. With these concerns in mind, the objective of this study is to assess the spatial and temporal comparability of the sulfate, nitrate and ammonium concentrations reported by each of these networks. One of the major differences between networks is the sampling frequency they adopted. While CASTNet measures pollution levels on seven-day integrated samples, STN and IMPROVE data pertain to 24-hour samples collected every three days. STN and IMPROVE data therefore exhibit considerably more short-term variability than their CASTNet counterpart. We show that, despite their apparent incongruity, averaging the data with a window size of four to six weeks is sufficient to remove the effects of differences in sampling frequency and duration and allow meaningful comparison of the signals reported by the three networks of concern. After averaging, all the sulfate and, to a lesser degree, ammonium concentrations reported are fairly similar. Nitrate concentrations, on the other hand, are still divergent. We speculate that this divergence originates from the different types of filters used to collect particulate nitrate. Finally, using a rotated principal component technique (RPCA), we determined the number and the geographical organization of the significant temporal modes of variation (clusters) detected by each network for the three pollutants of interest. For sulfate and ammonium, the clusters’ geographical boundaries established for each network and the modes of variations within each cluster seem to correspond. RPCA erformed on nitrate concentrations revealed that, for the CASTNet and IMPROVE networks, the modes of variation do not correspond to unified geographical regions but are found more sporadically. For STN, the clustered areas are unified and easily delineable. We conclude that the possibility of jointly using the data collected by CASTNet, IMPROVE and STN has to be weighed pollutant by pollutant. While sulfate and ammonium data show some potential for joint use, at this point, combining the nitrate data from these monitoring networks may not be a judicious choice.     

"云娜"台风的监视和预报

2004年“云娜”台风的监视和预报工作中，在应用常规天气资料的基础上加强了对历史热带气旋资料、天气雷达资料和过去对台风与台风暴雨分析预报研究成果的运用。在台风登陆前、登陆过程中和登陆后三个不同阶段中，应用多种资料进行有针对性的分析判断，并向防台风指挥部门及时提供信息服务，在防台工作中发挥了有效作用。，     

The dynamic characteristics and migration of a pyramid dune

The results of wind tunnel experiments and field observations show that when the intersection angle between airflow direction and dune crest (ridge) line is > 30°, a reverse vortex is formed. Because of the convergence of sand streams from the windward and lee slopes at the crest, sand accumulates in the crestal region, causing vertical growth. Nevertheless, studies also show that the common asymmetry of the two slopes of a dune may significantly influence the evolution of arms of a pyramid dune. The migration rates of pyramid dunes are mediated by the interplay of their arms moving transversely and the vertical growth in response to the variations in wind regimes. Comparing the effects of airflow transverse to a given arm with longitudinal airflow, it is indicated that the transverse airflow is more significant in controlling the arms of pyramid dunes. The whole body of the studied pyramid dune, particularly the upper quarter section, migrated SE direction during the monitoring period. The patterns of wind erosion and deposition change alternately with seasonal variations in wind directions. The W, NE and SE sides undergo constant erosion, deposition and both erosion and deposition, respectively. The results of long-term monitoring of a pyramid dune show that southerly winds, resulting from a local circulation, markedly affect the transverse migration of the whole pyramid dune.     

深圳市某建筑深基坑支护滑塌事故剖析

以深圳某建筑深基坑滑塌为例,在现场实物和相关资料调查的基础上,从基坑支护的设计、施工、监测以及质量安全管理等方面对基坑滑塌事故的原因进行了较为全面的分析和探讨,认为导致该基坑支护工程滑塌的主要原因是土钉和锚索抗拔力不足.最后针对目前深基坑工程中普遍存在的问题提出了加强设计方案的审查、加强施工管理、加强土钉墙研究的建议.     

浅埋暗挖技术在南平市天台隧道工程施工中的应用

主要介绍了在Ⅱ、Ⅲ类围岩中施工城市浅埋隧道的施工技术，以“短开挖、快封闭、强支护、勤量测”为指导，将隧道分成上、下两个台阶进行开挖，及时进行初期支护，保证施工始终处于安全状态。     

沉降预测的非等步长灰色时变参数模型

针对经典灰色系统模型的不足，根据灰色系统理论的信息处理原则，在模型中引入遗忘因子，建立了灰色系统沉降预测的非等步长灰色时变参数模型，并在求解过程中引入遗忘因子以修正预测结果。模型充分考虑了预测系统的时变性和灰色性，从而降低对预测系统状态的预测误差。实例预测表明，灰色时变参数模型可以将工后总沉降量的预测误差控制在23%以内。误差检验结果显示，预测结果的精度等级较引入遗忘因子修正前有显著的提高。     

滑坡监测的新方法——PMP测量方法

文章从国内外滑坡灾害、滑坡灾害的危害及现有滑坡监测方法等方面，论述了滑坡灾害带来的危害性，从而验证了滑坡监测的重要性。但目前现行的滑坡监测手段各有不足之处。针对这种情况，提出了新的测量方法改进其不足之处。位相测量剖面术的测量原理是将LCD投影仪安装于滑坡体上，在滑坡体外稳定地带放置监测系统，CCD光束中心垂直于滑坡体位移方向，监测系统由望远镜头和CCD组成，CCD输出的视频信号进入计算机。通过软件对图像进行处理，绘制出滑坡整体的三维面貌，并计算出滑动的距离，从而有效的观测滑坡体的运动过程。