Rapid vegetation change during the early Holocene in the Faroe Islands detected in terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems

High‐resolution pollen, plant macrofossil and sedimentary analyses from early Holocene lacustrine sediments on the Faroe Islands have detected a significant vegetation perturbation suggesting a rapid change in climate between ca. 10 380 cal. yr BP and the Saksunarvatn ash (10 240±60 cal. yr BP). This episode may be synchronous with the decline in δ¹⁸O values in the Greenland ice‐cores. It also correlates with a short, cold event detected in marine cores from the North Atlantic that has been ascribed to a weakening of thermohaline circulation associated with the sudden drainage of Lake Agassiz into the northwest Atlantic, or, alternatively, a period with distinctly decreased solar forcing. The vegetation sequence begins at ca. 10 500 cal. yr BP with a succession from tundra to shrub‐tundra and increasing lake productivity. Rapid population increases of aquatic plants suggest high summer temperatures between 10 450 and 10 380 cal. yr BP. High pollen percentages, concentrations and influx of Betula, Juniperus and Salix together with macrofossil leaves indicate shrub growth around the site during the initial phases of vegetation colonisation. Unstable conditions followed ca. 10 380 cal. yr BP that changed both the upland vegetation and the aquatic plant communities. A decrease in percentage values of shrub pollen is recorded, with replacement of both aquatics and herbaceous plants by pioneer plant communities. An increase in total pollen accumulation rates not seen in the concentration data suggests increased sediment delivery. The catchment changes are consistent with less seasonal, moister conditions. Subsequent climatic amelioration reinitiated a warmth‐driven succession and catchment stabilisation, but retained high precipitation levels influencing the composition of the post‐event communities. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Spatial variability of soil nutrients in Punta Fort William,Greenwich Island,maritime Antarctic

This study aims to report baseline soil nutrients, specifically the organic carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus profile, in soil samples collected from Puntta Fort William on Greenwich Island in maritime Antarctic. Samples were collected along two transect lines during the early summer of 2008. Ward＇s method of hierarchical agglomerative clustering was employed to group the sampling points based on their physico-chemical properties. In this context, the soil samples can be grouped into three major clus- ters： （1） Samples with intensive biological activities, （2） samples from the area recently exposed by glacial retreat and （3） samples from barren and dried areas. Nutrient contents in Punta Fort William are driven by the intensity of biological activities as well as melt water from the Qnito glacier.     

长山群岛海洋农牧化海域环境分区研究

海洋农牧化就是要在海域中,对贝、藻、鱼、虾类生物资源进行人工养殖、增殖以提高资源量。从捕天然生物资源转变成为以捕增养殖资源为主的生产方式。通过对长山群岛海域发展海洋农牧化的海域环境以及海水的理化因子等进行评价,并对该海域海水增养殖的发展状况、养殖品种及构成变化特征进行了分析,最后,应用主成份-聚类分析方法,将长山群岛海域环境划分为三个海洋农牧化区域,为因海制宜、合理布局海水增养殖生产提供科学依据。     

南海诸岛外来地名的命名背景及其历史影响

19世纪中叶至20世纪30年代英美等国在我国南海海域的测绘活动,给这里的岛礁留下了一大批以英语为主的外语名称。文中论述了南海诸岛外来地名的命名背景及其对我国三次公布官方名称所产生的深刻影响,在总结历史教训的基础上,分析了当前处理南海地名问题的缺陷,提出了若干改进建议。     

辽宁省14市与长山群岛旅游空间相互作用研究

运用旅游空间相互作用理论,以旅游人数、旅游总收入为基础数据,利用旅游空间相互作用模型,测算辽宁省14市、长山群岛与辽宁省14市及长山诸岛3个层次的旅游空间相互作用强度、经济联系度及经济隶属度。得出结论：① 各层级间空间相互作用强度、经济联系度及经济隶属度与距离呈负相关,区域间的空间相互作用强度、经济联系度及经济隶属度随距离增大逐渐减小;② 城市间经济联系度越强,旅游空间相互作用越大,与海岛旅游空间相互作用就越频繁;③ 通过对长山群岛旅游断裂点测算,得出其主要潜在客源地为大连、沈阳、丹东市。     

A ∼6100 14C yr record of El Niño activity from the Galápagos Islands

Lithostratigrahic and mineralogic analyses of sediments from hypersaline Bainbridge Crater Lake, Galápagos Islands, provide evidence of past El Niño frequency and intensity. Laminated sediments indicate that at least 435 moderate to very strong El Niño events have occurred since 6100 ¹⁴C yr BP (7130 cal yr BP), and that frequency and intensity of events increased at about 3000 ¹⁴C yr BP (3100 cal yr BP). El Niño activity was present between 6100 and 4000 ¹⁴C yr BP (4600 cal yr BP) but infrequent. The Bainbridge record indicates that there has been considerable millennial-scale variability in El Niño since the mid-Holocene.     

The place of rural, remote and least-wealthy small islands in international water development: the nexus of geography–technology sustainability in Chuuk State, Federated States of Micronesia

Many least-wealthy, rural, remote and resource-poor small island communities are unlikely to benefit from high-profile global water improvement initiatives. Their small landmasses, geologic composition, geography, social and technological isolation, colonial history, and weak educational and financial resources constitute significant barriers to improving access to safe drinking water. This paper discusses the relatively unique position of such island societies in the international community, providing a case study of the Federated States of Micronesia that integrates data and information pertaining to water resources management and governance, spanning from the island village to national scale. A vision is offered regarding the interaction between small island human and biophysical water systems, manifesting ways to pursue water resource development to improve public health which are constructed to be economically, physically and culturally sustainable.     

The Canary Islands swell: a coherence analysis of bathymetry and gravity

The Canary Archipelago is an intraplate volcanic chain, located near the West African continental margin, emplaced on old oceanic lithosphere of Jurassic age, with an extended volcanic activity since Middle Miocene. The adjacent seafloor does not show the broad oceanic swell usually observed in hotspot-generated oceanic islands. However, the observation of a noticeable depth anomaly in the basement west of the Canaries might indicate that the swell is masked by a thick sedimentary cover and the influence of the Canarian volcanism. We use a spectral approach, based on coherence analysis, to determine the swell and its compensation mechanism. The coherence between gravity and topography indicates that the swell is caused by a subsurface load correlated with the surface volcanic load. The residual gravity/geoid anomaly indicates that the subsurface load extends 600 km SSW and 800 km N and NNE of the islands. We used computed depth anomalies from available deep seismic profiles to constrain the extent and amplitude of the basement uplift caused by a relatively low-density anomaly within the lithospheric mantle, and coherence analysis to constrain the elastic thickness of the lithosphere ( T_e ) and the compensation depth of the swell. Depth anomalies and coherence are well simulated with T_e =28–36 km, compensation depth of 40–65 km, and a negative density contrast within the lithosphere of ∼33 kg m⁻³. The density contrast corresponds to a temperature increment of ∼325°C, which we interpret to be partially maintained by a low-viscosity convective layer in the lowermost lithosphere, and which probably involves the shallower parts of the asthenosphere. This interpretation does not require a significant rejuvenation of the mechanical properties of the lithosphere.     

南沙群岛景观及区域古地理

本文论述了南沙群岛的海底地形、海底表层沉积、珊瑚礁景观、区域新生代古地理、以永暑礁为代表的古气候与古海面，以及本区古海洋等自然地理特征。