Recent increase of DIC in the western North Pacific

The temporal variation of the total dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) content in the western North Pacific is investigated by comparing the DIC distribution obtained from the data sets of three different periods, the GEOSECS data observed in 1973, the CO₂ dynamics Cruise data observed in 1982, and recent Japanese data sets observed during the early 1990s. The overall feature of the signal of temporal DIC change during 1973 and early 1990s agreed with that of former studies, and did not significantly change with the calculation scheme (the grid-selection method vs. the multiple regression method). The observed increase in DIC among the different time scales showed a good inner consistency, which also indicates the stability of the method used in the DIC change calculation. The apparent rate of increase of the DIC inventory in the upper 1000 m water column, however, differed significantly by the data set used for the calculation: It was 5.6±2.4 g C/m²/year, based on the data comparison between 1982 and the early 1990s, while it became 7.6±2.4 g C/m²/year when based on the data between 1973 and the early 1990s. This result provides us an information about the data-dependency on the former estimation of temporal DIC change.     

认识偏心率周期的地层古气候意义

介绍了偏心率周期在地层和古气候研究方面的新发展.现有地球轨道模式对250Ma以来的轨道运算误差能控制在0.2%之内, 使基于偏心率周期来划分地层年代成为可能.新的国际标准地层年代表以405ka长偏心率周期为基础来划分主要地层界线.新生代将包括E1-E162偏心率长周期, 底界年龄(65.5±0.3) Ma.这一地层年代表的建立, 标志着轨道地层学时代的到来.偏心率的100ka短周期和405ka长周期在诸多地质记录中都有反映, 特别是来自深海钻孔的物理化学古气候指标.很多古气候重大事件往往发生在偏心率周期的弱振幅时期, 表明弱振幅时期易受其他因素的干扰影响, 这些因素包括碳储库、冰盖和海平面变化、电磁场, 以及区域构造重组等等.越来越多的研究发现碳同位素在偏心率周期上与地球轨道驱动相关, 且常领先于氧同位素的变化, 表明热带碳循环过程是影响全球气候变化的关键因素之一.      

Hydrograph separation to improve understanding of Dissolved Organic Carbon Dynamics in Headwater catchments

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) is a key component of the global carbon cycle, but, to date, large uncertainties still exist on its source and fate in first‐order streams. In a 23 ha rangeland and steep‐slope headwater of South Africa, our aim was to quantify the contribution of overland flow (OF), soil water (SW) and ground water (GW) to DOC fluxes (DOC_F), and to interpret the results in terms of DOC sources and fate. The average 2010–2011 DOC concentration (DOC_C) at the catchment outlet was 4.7 mg C l^?1 with a standard error of ±2.5 mg C l^?1, which was significantly lower than in SW (15.2 ± 1.6 mg C l^?1) and OF (11.9 ± 0.8 mg C l^?1), but higher than in GW (2.3 ± 0.6 mg C l^?1). Based on end‐member mixing using Si and Na concentration in the water compartments, the average SW contribution to DOC_F was 66.4%, followed by OF (30.0%) and GW (3.6%). The resulting estimated DOC_F at the catchment outlet was 8.05 g C m² y^?1. This was much higher than the observed value of 2.80 g C m² y^?1, meaning that 5.25 g C m² y^?1 or 65% of the DOC is lost during its downslope and/or downstream transport to the catchment outlet. Complementary investigations revealed that the DOC_C in SW dropped from 15.2 ± 1.6 to 2.6 ± 0.3 mg C l^?1 during its downslope transport to the river system, which corresponded to a net loss of 5.10 g C m² y^?1, or 97% of the catchment DOC losses. These results on DOC sources and potential fate in headwaters are expected to improve our understanding of the impact of hydrology on the global C‐cycle. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Influence of melt‐freeze‐cycles on the radionuclide transport in homogeneous laboratory snowpack

Radionuclides released to the environment and deposited with or onto snow can be stored over long time periods if ambient temperature stays low, particularly in glaciated areas or high alpine sites. The radionuclides will be accumulated in the snowpack during the winter unless meltwater runoff at the snow base occurs. They will be released to surface waters within short time during snowmelt in spring. In two experiments under controlled melting conditions of snow in the laboratory, radionuclide migration and runoff during melt‐freeze‐cycles were examined. The distribution of Cs‐134 and Sr‐85 tracers in homogeneous snow columns and their fractionation and potential preferential elution in the first meltwater portions were determined. Transport was associated with the percolation of meltwater at ambient temperatures above 0 °C after the snowpack became ripe. Mean migration velocities in the pack were examined for both nuclides to about 0.5 cm hr^?1 after one diurnal melt‐freeze‐cycle at ambient temperatures of ?2 to 4 °C. Meltwater fluxes were calculated with a median of 1.68 cm hr^?1. Highly contaminated portions of meltwater with concentration factors between 5 and 10 against initial bulk concentrations in the snowpack were released as ionic pulse with the first meltwater. Neither for caesium nor strontium preferential elution was observed. After recurrent simulated day‐night‐cycles (?2 to 4 °C), 80% of both radionuclides was released with the first 20% of snowmelt within 4 days. 50% of Cs‐134 and Sr‐85 were already set free after 24 hr. Snowmelt contained highest specific activities when the melt rate was lowest during the freeze‐cycles due to concentration processes in remaining liquids, enhanced by the melt‐freeze‐cycling. This implies for natural snowpack after significant radionuclide releases, that long‐time accumulation of radionuclides in the snow during frost periods, followed by an onset of steady meltwater runoff at low melt rates, will cause the most pronounced removal of the contaminants from the snow cover. This scenario represents the worst case of impact on water quality and radiation exposure in aquatic environments.     

松辽盆地嫩江组凝缩层形成机制及其地质意义

本文应用层序地层学、沉积地质学及盆地动力学分析方法,阐述了松辽盆地嫩江组凝缩层形成机制及其意义。松辽盆地嫩江组底部发育10~15 m厚的凝缩层,其形成机制是在嫩江组强制性水退旋回作用下导致湖盆萎缩,在进积型层序远端湖相区形成浓缩水体的高盐度还原环境,由此沉积了以油页岩为标志、以钟形高电阻为特征的凝缩层。该凝缩层底界面以SB₀₇最大湖泛面为等时边界,向上包含了进积型层序较长的时间跨度,不具等时性,同时来自东部物源向西的强烈进积堵塞了海侵通道,也使松辽盆地嫩江组发生过"海侵事件"的推论无法成立。因此,凝缩层形成机制的认识在松辽盆地层序地层学和沉积地质学领域具有重要的意义。成藏分析认为嫩江组凝缩层既是烃源岩也是区域性盖层,在其上下蕴藏着丰富的油气资源,同时由于强制性水退型层序在钻井及地震上具有易于识别的结构特点,是含油气盆地评价及层系优选的结构性标志。因此,凝缩层的认识不论在层序地层、沉积环境及成藏分析方面都具有重要的理论和实际意义。     

干湿交替下水分及氯离子在混凝土中传输的细观数值模拟

氯离子侵蚀已成为影响海洋及近海环境中混凝土结构耐久性的主要因素。考虑材料组成的非匀质特性,将混凝土看作由粗骨料、硬化水泥砂浆及二者界面过渡区组成的三相复合材料的细观层次方法,是开展物质传输过程研究的新途径。建立非饱和混凝土中氯离子传输的一维非线性对流扩散方程,并利用伽略金加权余数法给出了该方程的有限元形式,采用适用于物质传输的细观格构网络模型开展了水分及氯离子在非饱和混凝土中传输过程及分布规律研究,分析了干湿循环周期和循环机制对水分及氯离子传输性能的影响规律。数值计算结果表明,干湿交替下,相同的干燥时间,非饱和混凝土内水分及氯离子的侵入深度主要取决于湿润时间,而干燥时间和循环周期数则影响混凝土表层氯离子含量,并在混凝土表层10 mm处有浓度集中现象。     

Decadal to millennial cyclicity in varves and turbidites from the Arabian Sea: hypothesis of tidal origin

We have analyzed a Late Holocene record, almost 5000 years long, consisting of varved sediments deposited in the oxygen-minimum zone (OMZ) off Pakistan. We searched for cyclicity in the series of varve thickness (“varve” cycles), of unusually large excursions in varve thickness (“agitation” cycles), and of abundance of turbidites (“turbidite” cycles). We found the following high-frequency cycles (periods between 10 and 100 years) in one or several of the three types of series as follows: near 12.4, 14–15, 16.8, 18.6 (strong, agitation), 25–26 (strong, turbidite), 29–31 (strong, agitation), 39 (varve), 44 (strong, turbidite), 51–54 (strong, agitation), 56 (strong, varve), 64 (strong, turbidite), 69, 77 (strong, turbidite), 82 (very strong, agitation), and 95 years (strong, varve). Low-frequency cycles center around 99–115, 125 (very strong, varve), 164, 177, 202, 242–255 (strong, agitation and turbidite), 280 (strong, varve; doubled, turbidite), 340–370 and 460–490 years.Some cycles of varve thickness match the cyclicity of turbidite frequency (12.3, 14–15, 25–26, 245–255 years) but similarities between spectra are not striking. Taken as a whole, however, the sequence of cycles detected (by autocorrelation and standard Fourier analysis) seems to contain a large proportion of multiples of the basic tidal cycles 4.425 (lunar perigee cycle) and 9.3 years (lunar half-nodal cycle). This impression is supported by testing the three binned spectra for whole-number multiples and fractions as well as whole-number beat structure. We therefore propose that a large proportion of the cyclicity detected can be ascribed to tidal action. Our record also contains evidence for the presence of the 1470-year cycle previously reported from the glacial-age Greenland ice record. The main harmonics of this Greenland cycle can be tied to the pattern of periods seen in the varved sediments. We hypothesize that tidal action produces the cycle, and that the reason for its great length is the requirement that maximum tidal activity has to fall into a narrow seasonal window to be geologically effective.     

Jamaica Bay studies III: Abiotic determinants of distribution and abundance of gulls (Larus)

The distribution and abundance of gulls were examined at Jamaica Bay Wildlife Refuge (New York) from 31 May 1978 to 31 May 1979. Gulls were found to be affected by tidal, temporal and weather-related factors. The distribution of gulls was affected primarily by tidal factors on the bay, and by temporal (seasonal, circadian) and weather-related factors on the freshwater ponds. The most important weather-related factors were temperature, wind velocity and wind direction. Herring (L. argentatus), great black-backed (L. fuscus) and ring-billed gulls (L. delawarensis) fed on the bay at low tides, and used the ponds at high tide. Laughing gulls (L. atricilla) fed on the bay at low tide and on rising tides. Herring and great black-backed gulls were present all year, but were most abundant in the winter, ring-billed gulls were abundant in spring and early fall, and laughing gulls were present in the summer following the breeding season but were absent in winter. Gulls used the ponds during high velocity, north winds, when they usually rested or preened. Multiple regression models were used to determine the factors explaining the variability in the numbers of gulls. Temporal variables were important contributors to accounting for the variability in the numbers of great black-backed and herring gulls only; tidal variables were significant for great black-backed and herring gulls on the bay, and for ring-billed and laughing gulls on all areas; and weather variables were significant for all species.     

Eddy viscosity and tidal cycles in a shallow sea

The very pronounced spring-neap tidal cycle in the South Australian Gulfs leads to an unusually large variation in the magnitude of the tidal currents. Measurements of the currents in these Gulfs show that the non-tidal circulation depends on the strength of the tidal currents and hence on the spring-neap cycle. A simple model is produced in which the vertical eddy viscosity is a function of both wind strength and tidal currents. Results from the model agree with the observations and suggest a means whereby variations in tidal mixing may be accounted for in hydrodynamic modelling of the circulation in shallow seas.