Annual cycle and composition of the phytoplankton in the Quempillen River Estuary,southern Chile

Phytoplankton species and abundance were studied in the Quempillen River Estuary, from August 1979 to July 1980 in addition to some important environmental factors: salinity, temperature and dissolved oxygen. In order to determine the seasonal variations in cell density and biomass of the phytoplankton in this brackish aquatic environment, phytoplankton data obtained by the Uthermöhl (1958) technique were analysed.A total of 109 phytoplankton species were identified within the samples. Throughout the year there were two periods of population maxima, September and May, and one period of high biomass, February. The phytoflagellates were always present but only dominated the flora when diatoms were extremely reduced, especially during low tide periods.     

Microbial biogeochemistry and bioturbation in the sediments of Great Bay, New Hampshire

The influence of bioturbation on certain aspects of the biogeochemistry of sulfur and iron was examined in shallow-water sediments of Great Bay Estuary, New Hampshire. A bioturbated (JEL) and non-bioturbated (SQUAM) site were compared. Annual sulfate reduction measured with ³⁵S, was 4·5 times more rapid at JEL. A significant portion of this difference was attributed to rapid rates which occurred throughout the upper 12 cm of sediment at JEL due to infaunal reworking activities. Sulfate reduction decreased rapidly with depth at SQUAM. FeS in the upper 2 cm at JEL increased in concentration from 3 to 45 μmol ml⁻¹ from early May to late July while only increasing from 3 to 8 μmol ml⁻¹ at SQUAM. Infaunal irrigation and reworking activities caused rapid and continous subsurface cycling of iron and sulfur at JEL. This maintained dissolved iron concentrations at 160–170 μM throughout the summer despite rapid sulfide production. Therefore, dissolved sulfide never accumulated in JEL pore waters. Although dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was generated during sulfate reduction, bioturbation during summer caused a net removal of DOC from JEL pore waters. Sulfate reduction rates, decomposition stoichiometry and nutrient concentrations were used to calculate turnover times of nutrients in pore waters. Nutrient turnover varied temporally and increased three-to five-fold during bioturbation. A secondary maximum in the abundance of recoverable sulfate-reducing bacteria occurred at 10 cm in JEL sediments only during periods of active bioturbation, demonstrating the influence of macrofaunal activities on bacterial distributions.     

Coastal Placer Deposits of Central Tamil Nadu, India

Placer mineral exploration has been undertaken along the beach of Central Tamil Nadu coast from Pondicherry to Vedaranyam. On the basis of the drainage network, geomorphology, and the coastal environment, the study area has been grouped into three sectors, North, Central, and South. Heavy mineral by Wt% shows a slightly higher abundance in the Northern sector, an enrichment of opaques in the Central sector from stations between Poompuhar and Karaikal, and a total depletion in the Southern sector. An abundance of heavies in the Northern sector is considered to be the result of a higher wave energy, and the cymatogenic downwarping of the basin during the present transgression. An enrichment of heavies in the Central sector from Poompuhar to Karaikal is attributable to the reworking of the beach ridges, which were submerged during the present transgression, and to the role of density sorting. A depletion of heavies in the Southern sector is accounted for by the absence of a terrigenous supply and the prevalence of wave shadow conditions throughout the year. The nature of the heavy mineral assemblage reflects the derivation of sediments principally from khondalites, granites, metamorphic rocks and paleo-sediments. Factor analysis also supplements the predominant role of a density factor in the segregation of heavy minerals in the study area. A five-stage model is proposed for the formation of placer deposits in the study region. The present study has disclosed rich concentrations of ilmenites in the central sector between Poompuhar and Karaikal that can be commercially exploited.     

The biology of the catfish Cnidoglanis macrocephalus (Plotosidae) in an Australian estuary

This paper describes the age structure, growth, diet and aspects of gonadal development in the cobbler, Cnidoglanis macrocephalus (Valenciennes), in the large Swan estuary in south-western Australia between August 1982 and June 1984. Analysis of otolith annuli showed that while the 0+ to 3+ age classes were regularly represented in monthly samples, the 4+ and more particularly the 5+ and 6+ were much less abundant. The weighted means for the back calculated lengths at the end of the first to fourth years of life were 181 mm (≡ 26 g), 314 mm (≡ 156 g), 418 mm (≡ 410 g) and 518 mm (≡ 833 g) respectively. The mean length at the end of the second year of life was similar to the minimum legal size for capture by commercial fishermen (320 mm). The von Bertlanffy growth curve calculated from the back calculated lengths was L_t = 917 [1 − e^{−0·20(t + 0·11)}]. The relative weight of mulluscs, crustaceans and polychaetes in the intestine varied markedly between small and large fish, apparently reflecting differences in the size of these prey. The large mean diameter of mature eggs ( ) was correlated with a low mean absolute fecundity (2078). Trends shown by egg size, gonadosomatic index and time of appearance of spent females indicate that spawning takes place between October and December. The attainment of sexual maturity is both age- and size-dependent. Although sexually maturing and occasionally spent fish were found in the lower estuary, meristic values, commercial catch statistics and other data indicate that the cobbler found in the Swan estuary are part of a population which typically spawns at sea.     

Scyphomedusae in surface waters near the Oregon coast, May–August 1981

The scyphomedusae of the surface waters off Oregon and southern Washington were collected with commercial purse seines from May–August 1981. Twelve east-west transects, located from north of the Columbia River to south of Coos Bay were sampled from the 37 m isobath to distances up to 48 km from shore. Chrysaora fuscescens was the dominant species collected in each month. Maximum sampled abundances reached 18001 of medusae per 10⁵ m³. Using an estimated carbon content of 0·280% of wet weight, this medusa density was calculated to contain approximately 50 mg Cm⁻³. Seven of the 263 samples contained so many medusae that they exceeded the capacity of the sampling gear. In all months but May, when medusa densities were relatively low, the density of C. fuscescens was greatest closest to shore and decreased rapidly offshore. Mean umbrella diameter increased from 8·6 cm in May to 18·5 cm in August, while the largest specimens increased from 19 cm in May to 37 cm in August. Aurelia aurtia, Cyanea capillata and Phacellophora camtschatica were also collected, but were much less abundant than C. fuscescens. The relative abundance of C. fuscescens was compared with the maximum abundance of copepods off the Oregon coast, and the hydrographic features influencing medusa distribution patterns are discussed.     

Hydrographic changes in the Labrador Sea, 1960–2005

The Labrador Sea has exhibited significant temperature and salinity variations over the past five decades. The whole basin was extremely warm and salty between the mid-1960s and early 1970s, and fresh and cold between the late 1980s and mid-1990s. The full column salinity change observed between these periods is equivalent to mixing a 6 m thick freshwater layer into the water column of the early 1970s. The freshening and cooling trends reversed in 1994 starting a new phase of heat and salt accumulation in the Labrador Sea sustained throughout the subsequent years. It took only a decade for the whole water column to lose most of its excessive freshwater, reinstate stratification and accumulate enough salt and heat to approach its record high salt and heat contents observed between the late 1960s and the early 1970s. If the recent tendencies persist, the basin’s storages of salt and heat will fairly soon, likely by 2008, exceed their historic highs.The main process responsible for the net cooling and freshening of the Labrador Sea between 1987 and 1994 was deep winter convection, which during this period progressively developed to its record depths. It was caused by the recurrence of severe winters during these years and in its turn produced the deepest, densest and most voluminous Labrador Sea Water (LSW_1987–1994) ever observed. The estimated annual production of this water during the period of 1987–1994 is equivalent to the average volume flux of about 4.5 Sv with some individual annual rates exceeding 7.0 Sv. Once winter convection had lost its strength in the winter of 1994–1995, the deep LSW_1987–1994 layer lost “communication” with the mixed layer above, consequently losing its volume, while gaining heat and salt from the intermediate waters outside the Labrador Sea.While the 1000–2000 m layer was steadily becoming warmer and saltier between 1994 and 2005, the upper 1000 m layer experienced another episode of cooling caused by an abrupt increase in the air-sea heat fluxes in the winter of 1999–2000. This change in the atmospheric forcing resulted in fairly intense convective mixing sufficient to produce a new prominent LSW class (LSW₂₀₀₀) penetrating deeper than 1300 m. This layer was steadily sinking or deepening over the years following its production and is presently overlain by even warmer and apparently less dense water mass, implying that LSW₂₀₀₀ is likely to follow the fate of its deeper precursor, LSW_1987–1994. The increasing stratification of the intermediate layer implies intensification in the baroclinic component of the boundary currents around the mid-depth perimeter of the Labrador Sea.The near-bottom waters, originating from the Denmark Strait overflow, exhibit strong interannual variability featuring distinct short-term basin-scale events or pulses of anomalously cold and fresh water, separated by warm and salty overflow modifications. Regardless of their sign these anomalies pass through the abyss of the Labrador Sea, first appearing at the Greenland side and then, about a year later, at the Labrador side and in the central Labrador Basin.The Northeast Atlantic Deep Water (2500–3200 m), originating from the Iceland–Scotland Overflow Water, reached its historically freshest state in the 2000–2001 period and has been steadily becoming saltier since then. It is argued that LSW_1987–1994 significantly contributed to the freshening, density decrease and volume loss experienced by this water mass between the late 1960s and the mid 1990s via the increased entrainment of freshening LSW, the hydrostatic adjustment to expanding LSW, or both.     

山东蓬莱沿海的贝类

本文报导了蓬莱沿海的贝类１１１种,隶属４９科８６属 ,并对它们的生态类型,区和纱分布特点作了初步分析。     

浙江北部沿海婆罗囊螺（Retusa borneensis)生态敏感因子的筛选研究

根据 2 0 0 1年 4月— 2 0 0 2年 9月间对浙江北部沿海婆罗囊螺资源生态调查与实验生态观察、生物学特性研究、敏感药物选择与区域应用实验所获资料 ,以婆罗囊螺繁殖盛期优势群体与同时期滩涂养殖主要经济种类泥螺、彩虹明樱蛤优势群体间生态耐受特性比较为基础 ,通过建立基于利比希最小因子定律和谢尔福德耐受性定律基础之上的婆罗囊螺生态敏感因子确定方法 ,对婆罗囊螺生态敏感因子及其敏感度指数进行定量分析研究。结果表明 ,婆罗囊螺6h内温度、盐度及酸碱度的最大生态幅分别为 0— 40℃、5— 65和 3.92— 9.5 ,最适生态幅分别为温度 1 0— 30℃、盐度 1 7— 35和酸碱度 5 .5— 9.5 ;各实验动物对温度、盐度及酸碱度的生态敏感度指数分别为 :婆罗囊螺呈酸碱度 >温度 >盐度 ,泥螺呈温度 =盐度 >酸碱度 ,彩虹明樱蛤则表现为温度≈酸碱度≈盐度 ;各实验生物间对温度、盐度及酸碱度生态敏感度指数分别表现为 ,温度呈彩虹明樱蛤≈婆罗囊螺 >泥螺 ,盐度呈泥螺 >彩虹明樱蛤≈婆罗囊螺 ,酸碱度呈婆罗囊螺 >泥螺 >彩虹明樱蛤。在讨论并设定酸碱度作为婆罗囊螺生态敏感因子的同时 ,为不影响涂泥底质安全 ,保证泥螺和彩虹明樱蛤的正常存活 ,确定酸碱度对婆罗囊螺的有效作用水平为 9.5— 1 0。     

华南沿海地质灾害类型、发育规律和防治对策

本文系统和全面地论述华南沿海地质灾害的类型和发育规律。从宏观控制因素划分出岩石圈、大气圈、水圈及生物圈控制的四大地质灾害类型,阐明各类型发灾特点,论述主要地质灾害类型的分布和发育规律,提出灾害的总体防治对策。