Effect of Groundwater Fluctuations on Pore Pressures and Earth Pressures on Coastal Excavation Retaining Walls

Pore water and earth pressures acting on retaining structures are investigated using an efficient coastal double-layered excavation model to determine offshore excavation responses to groundwater fluctuations outside foundation pits. Total pore water pressure includes excess pore water pressure (due to groundwater fluctuations) and steady pore water pressure (due to steady seepage) determined using one-dimensional consolidation theory of double-layered soil and one-dimensional steady-state flow theory, respectively. Rankine's active and passive earth pressures are obtained from pore water pressure. This method is applicable to arbitrary groundwater fluctuation conditions. How physical parameters affect pore water pressure is numerically investigated using examples, demonstrating the method's practicality for calculating pore water and earth pressures.     

闽浙沿岸海域沉积物中汞和甲基汞的含量分布及其影响因素

在2012年6月实施的国家自然科学基金春季航次中,采集了闽浙沿岸海域表层和岩心沉积物样品。对沉积物样品进行了汞和甲基汞的分析测试,并结合沉积物中常量元素含量、粒度组分、有机质含量和孔隙水中硫酸根离子浓度等系统地分析了汞和甲基汞含量的分布及其影响因素。研究结果表明:(1)闽浙沿岸海域沉积物中汞和甲基汞含量分布大致表现为近岸含量高(杭州湾以南浙江沿岸),远岸含量低的特点。泥质区岩心沉积物中汞的甲基化作用主要发生在近表层较小的深度范围内(泥质区北部和南部,其深度范围分别为0~15和0~13 cm)。(2)在闽浙近岸泥质区,汞的原位甲基化是甲基汞的主要来源,在成岩过程中,埋深或其他环境条件的变化可以导致甲基汞的转移或再分配。(3)影响沉积物中汞和甲基汞含量分布及甲基化作用强弱的因素主要包括人为污染、海流体系、粒级组成、有机质含量和硫酸盐还原菌活性。人为污染是沉积物中汞含量的主控因素;海流体系控制着汞含量的分布格局;粒级组成影响着甲基汞的富集程度;有机质对表层沉积物中汞的甲基化作用影响不明显,在岩心沉积物中,既可以促进汞的甲基化,也可以抑制汞的甲基化,主要取决于沉积物中有机质的类型;硫酸盐还原菌的活化能力是汞甲基化作用的主控因素之一。     

地震活动性参数b值和年发生率的一种取值方法

介绍了一种将历史地震与现代小震统计结果相协调,去不可靠或不稳定数据段确定地震活动性参数ｂ值,以及通过不同震级下限地震频度的时间滑动分析,选取现今与历史相近,且具较高震级下限的统计结果,推算４级以上地震年发生度ｖ４的方法。计算给出了东南沿海地震带及其南带,北带的ｂ值和ｖ４值。     

A Numerical Model of Coastal Processes of Sand Beaches Based on Long-Term Wave Series

A numerical model of shoreline change of sand beaches based on long-term field wave data is proposed, the explicit and implicit finite difference forms of the model are described, and an application of the model is presented. Results of the application indicate that the model is sensitive to the order of the input wave data, and that the effects of long-term wave series and the effects of the mean annual wave conditions on the model are different. Instead of a single wave condition, the wave series will make the calibration and the verification of the model more practical and the results of the model more reasonable.     

In vitro screening for endocrine disruptive activity in selected South African harbours and river mouths

Various waterborne anthropogenic contaminants disrupt the endocrine systems of wildlife and humans, targeting reproductive pathways, among others. Very little is known, however, regarding the occurrence of endocrine disruptive activity in South African freshwater ecosystems, and coastal ecosystems have not been studied in this regard. In a first attempt to investigate endocrine disruptive activity in South African coastal waters, surface water samples collected from harbours, river mouths and estuaries in three metropolitan municipalities, eThekwini (which includes Durban), Nelson Mandela (specifically Port Elizabeth Harbour) and City of Cape Town, were screened for (anti) oestrogenicity and (anti)androgenicity using recombinant yeast bioassays. Moreover, levels of the female hormone 17β-(o)estradiol (E2) were determined in all samples, as well as a selection of hydrocarbons in the eThekwini samples. A high proportion of samples collected from eThekwini were oestrogenic, whereas none from Port Elizabeth Harbour and only a single river mouth sampled in the City of Cape Town were oestrogenic. E2 was detected in all the samples tested, but at higher concentrations at the eThekwini and City of Cape Town localities than Port Elizabeth Harbour. In addition, the recombinant yeast assays revealed that anti-androgenicity was widespread, being detected in the majority of samples screened apart from those representing Port Elizabeth Harbour. Conversely, no anti-oestrogenic or androgenic activity was detected. Anti-androgenicity did not associate with hydrocarbon loads, providing evidence that other anti-androgens were responsible for the observed activity. The present data suggest potential reproductive disruption in marine and estuarine fauna inhabiting the eThekwini and City of Cape Town regions.     

Differential distribution of the two cryptic species, Pomatoschistus microps and P. marmoratus, in the lagoons of southern France, with an emphasis on the genetic organisation of P. microps

The presence and the distribution of two cryptic sedentary gobies, Pomatoschistus microps and Pomatoschistus marmoratus, were investigated in several lagoons stretching along the Golfe du Lion, southern France Mediterranean coast, and Corsica. Pomatoschistus microps is the only sedentary Pomatoschistus species in two shallow lagoons with large variations of salinity and temperature. In contrast, P. marmoratus, another sedentary species, can be found preferentially in a deep salty lagoon with small salinity variations. Both species occur sympatrically in the Rhone Delta and hybridise, producing fertile offspring. Using allozymes, competition, linked to fitness, is invoked to explain the distribution pattern of these sibling species.     

Northern Adriatic phytoplankton response to short Po River discharge pulses during summer stratified conditions

A 275‐km‐long transversel Northern Adriatic profile from the mouth of the Po River (Italian Adriatic coast) to the Kvarner region (Croatian coastal island area) was investigated in three successive case studies in August 2008, 2009 and 2010. The short Po River pulses in August result in the surface advection of riverine water, nutrients and phytoplankton from the western to the eastern side of the Adriatic. This surface spreading exhibits inter‐annual variability depending on the riverine discharge in the preceding period. The Po River discharge pulse in August 2010 in particular resulted in an extraordinary tongue‐like advection of riverine water, nutrients, and phytoplankton towards the Eastern Adriatic coast. The phenomenon was detected using both satellite imagery and classical oceanographic measurements. In the advective water, toxic dinoflagellates were most abundant in August 2010, when the influence of the Po was greatest.     

Reclamation-oriented spatiotemporal evolution of coastal wetland along Bohai Rim,China

Coastal wetlands are located in the ecotone of interaction between the land surface and sea, and anthropogenic activities extensively interfere with these wetlands through the reclamation of large tidal wetlands and destruction of the function of the ecosystems. In this study, we investigated the dynamic evolutionary characteristics of the Bohai Rim coastal area over the past 40 years using the Modified Normalized Difference Water Index, the fractal dimension, object-oriented classification, the land-use transfer trajectory, and regression analysis. Additionally, we quantified and monitored the evolution of reclamation and analyzed the correlation between reclamation and coastal wetlands based on 99 Landsat-2, -5, and -8 images (at 60 m and 30 m spatial resolution) over the period 1980–2019. The results are as follows. (1) The coastline of the Bohai Rim increased by 1 631.2 km from 1980 to 2019 with a zigzag variation. The artificial coastline increased by 2 946.1 km, whereas the natural coastline decreased by 90%. (2) The area of man-made wetlands increased by 3 736.9 km2, the area of construction land increased by 1 008.4 km2, and the natural wetland area decreased by 66%. The decrease of tidal flats is the main contributor to the decrease of natural wetland area (takes account for 91.1%). Coastal areas are affected by intense human disturbance, which was taken place across a large area of tidal flats and caused the landscape to fragment and be more heterogeneous. The coastal zone development activities were primarily concentrated in the southern Laizhou Bay, the Yellow River Delta, the Bohai Bay, the northern Liaodong Bay, and the Pulandian Bay. The solidified shorelines and increase in sea level have resulted in intertidal wetlands decreasing and impaired wetland ecology. (3) There is a good agreement between reclamation and the size of the coastal wetlands. Both land reclamation and the reduction in coastal wetland areas are significantly related to the population size, fishery output value, and urbanization rate. In summary, human activities, such as the construction of aquaculture ponds and salt pans, industrialization, and urbanization, are the primary forces that influence the environmental changes in the coastal region. This study is beneficial for establishing and improving the systems for the rational development and utilization of natural resources, and provides theoretical references for restoring wetland ecology and managing future reclamation activities in other coastal zone-related areas.     

南海东北部晚第四纪古生产力变化

通过对南海东北部、吕宋岛西北岩外１７９２８柱状样吕浮游、底栖有孔虫丰度及其与生产力有关和属种含量变化的研究,发现该柱状样在末次冰期（氧同位素２～４期）和氧同位素６期时,浮游、底栖有孔虫丰度增高,高生产力的有孔虫含量也在这两个时期出现高值,说明此时该区具有同的生力水平,这种现象可能与冰期时陆营养盐输入量增加、东亚冬季风增强并在此形成上升流有关。