Outburst risk of barrier lakes in Sichuan,China

34 barrier lakes induced by earthquake have been formed by wedged debris on the river channels after a massive earthquake happening on May 12 in Sichuan, China. Among them, the Tangjiashan Barrier Lake is the largest one. It faces very urgent risk of dam breaking when water level reaches the top and begins overflow in case of storm rainfalls and continually aftershocks, threatening already devastated cities and villages with about 1.5 million people downstream. The outburst of a similar barrier lake occurred in the Minjiang River in 1933, causing a catastrophic flood. Risk analysis indicates that not all barrier lakes are highly dangerous. Only those lakes with very high dams and water to be filled up in short period need to be dealt with immediately.     

太湖流域海面-地面变化信息系统研究

从生态脆弱性的一般属性出发,分析太湖生态脆弱性特征的形成和发展,太湖是我国典型的生态脆弱区,且有继续发展的可能趋势。迫切需要我们摆脱“鱼米之乡”,“人间天堂”等观念束缚,针对生态脆弱性特征,探索消除生态脆弱矛盾的对策措施。     

Evidence for an Hesperian-aged South Circum-Polar Lake Margin Environment on Mars

A broad pitted plain and an elongated low rise occur near the south pole of Mars between a region of major cavi (Cavi Angusti) and a regionally smooth and broad valley (Argentea Planum). Viking, Mars Global Surveyor (MGS), and Odyssey data reveal a densely pitted plain covering ∼6750 km², and containing >300 irregularly shaped, steep-walled and flat-floored depressions with a mean diameter of ∼3.5 km. At the southernmost (poleward) extent of this plain are 12 north/south trending linear valleys that are characterized by theater-shaped heads abutting a major cavi within Cavi Angusti. The pitted plain, which abuts Cavi Angusti to the southwest, is separated from the floor of Argentea Planum by a smooth, elongated low rise that extends parallel to the plain for ∼200 km. These unusual features are all found within the Hesperian-aged circumpolar Dorsa Argentea Formation, which has been interpreted by some workers to be an ice-rich glacier-related deposit. We interpret the pitted plain to represent the maximum northern extent of the Angusti lobe ice deposit. The pits are analogous in morphology and distribution to terrestrial kettle holes, which form from the melting of isolated ice-blocks surrounded and partly buried by sediment, to leave hollows. The linear valleys are consistent with sapping valleys formed from the release of an elevated groundwater table, fed by meltwater lakes. On the basis of these characteristics, relationships and analogs, we interpret the marginal facies to represent an ice-sheet/lake contact environment that existed during Hesperian time.     

Impacts of salinity parameterizations on temperature simulation over and in a hypersaline lake

In this paper,we introduced parameterizations of the salinity effects(on heat capacity,thermal conductivity,freezing point and saturated vapor pressure) in a lake scheme integrated in the Weather Research and Forecasting model coupled with the Community Land Model(WRF-CLM). This was done to improve temperature simulation over and in a saline lake and to test the contributions of salinity effects on various water properties via sensitivity experiments. The modified lake scheme consists of the lake module in the CLM model,which is the land component of the WRF-CLM model. The Great Salt Lake(GSL) in the USA was selected as the study area. The simulation was performed from September 3,2001 to September 30,2002. Our results show that the modif ied WRF-CLM model that includes the lake scheme considering salinity effects can reasonably simulate temperature over and in the GSL. This model had much greater accuracy than neglecting salinity effects,particularly in a very cold event when that effect alters the freezing point. The salinity effect on saturated vapor pressure can reduce latent heat flux over the lake and make it slightly warmer. The salinity effect on heat capacity can also make lake temperature prone to changes. However,the salinity effect on thermal conductivity was found insignificant in our simulations.     

可可西里苟仁错湖泊沉积物元素地球化学特征及其环境意义

湖泊沉积物元素地球化学特征及其比值，有效地揭示了湖泊沉积物物源区的化学风化程度．已成为反映古气候波动的有效指标。根据可可西里苟仁错湖泊沉积物的元素地球化学特征，通过CIA，ICV等元素比值的结果，揭示该地区1400AD以来化学风化作用十分微弱，因此湖泊沉积物元素组成，对气候变化非常敏感。研究表明1400AD以来该地区气候经历多次冷暖波动，且呈干旱化的趋势，1420AD左右进入小冰期，其中1480～1520AD最为寒冷，1900AD后干旱化加剧。     

A niche model to predict Microcystis bloom decline in Chaohu Lake, China

Cyanobacterial blooms occur frequently in lakes due to eutrophication. Although a number of models have been proposed to forecast algal blooms, a good and applicable method is still lacking. This study explored a simple and effective mathematical-ecological model to evaluate the growth status and predict the population dynamics of Microcystis blooms. In this study, phytoplankton were collected and identified from 8 sampling sites in Chaohu Lake every month from July to October, 2010. The niche breadth and niche overlap of common species were calculated using standard equations, and the potential relative growth rates of Microcystis were calculated as a weighted-value of niche overlap. In July, the potential relative growth rate was 2.79 (a.u., arbitrary units) but then rapidly declined in the following months to -3.99 a.u. in September. A significant correlation (R=0.998, P<0.01) was found in the model between the net-increase in biomass of Microcystis in the field and the predicted values calculated by the niche model, we concluded that the niche model is suitable for forecasting the dynamics of Microcystis blooms. Redundancy analysis indicated that decreases in water temperature, dissolved oxygen and total dissolved phosphorus might be major factors underlying bloom decline. Based on the theory of community succession being caused by resource competition, the growth and decline of blooms can be predicted from a community structure. This may provide a basis for early warning and control of algal blooms.     

Managing Soil Erosion Potential by Integrating Digital Elevation Models with the Southern China＇s Revised Universal Soil Loss Equation——A Case Study for the West Lake Scenic Spots Area of Hangzhou, China

In China, many scenic and tourism areas are suffering from the urbanization that results from physical development of tourism projects, leading to the removal of the vegetative cover, the creation of areas impermeable to water, in-stream modifications, and other problems. In this paper, the risk of soil erosion and its ecological risks in the West Lake Scenic Spots （WLSS） area were quantitatively evaluated by integrating the revised universal soil loss equation （RUSLE） with a digital elevation model （DEM） and geographical information system （GIS） software. The standard RUSLE factors were modified to account for local climatic and topographic characteristics reflected in the DEM maps, and for the soil types and vegetation cover types. An interface was created between the Areinfo software and RUSLE so that the level of soil erosion and its ecological risk in the WLSS area could be mapped immediately once the model factors were defined for the area. The results from an analysis using the Areinfo-RUSLE interface showed that the risk value in 93 % of the expanding western part of the WLSS area was moderate or more severe and the soil erosion risk in this area was thus large compared with that in the rest of the area. This paper mainly aimed to increase the awareness of the soil erosion risk in urbanizing areas and suggest that the local governments should consider the probable ecological risk resulting from soil erosion when enlarging and developing tourism areas.     

Energy flow in Branchiura sowerbyi (Oligochaeta: tubificidae) in a shallow macrophyte-dominated lake, Biandantang Lake

The energy flow ofBranchiura sowerbyi was studied for the first time in China in a shallow macrophytic lake, Biandantang Lake, Hubei Province. The energy flow was calculated from the measurement of flesh production (12.5241kJ/m²a), egestion (517.7302kJ/m²a), metabolism (38.3273 kJ/m²a), and excretion (4.3798kJ/m²a). The net growth efficiency of the species is about 22.7%, which accords well with the generally reported value for oligochaetes. In addition, the relationship between starvation respiration (R, mgO₂/ind·d), wet weight (Ww, mg) and temperature (T, °C) were also measured, with the regression function beingR=0.008Ww^0.736 e^0.050T. Project supported by NSFC (30270278, 3960019), the foundation of the government of Hubei Province (No. 2000J109), and the foundation of Ecological Station, CAS in the Institute of Hydrobiology.     

Ecosystem health assessment of Honghu Lake Wetland of China using artificial neural network approach

Honghu Lake, located in the southeast of Hubei Province, China, has suffered a severe disturbance during the past few decades. To restore the ecosystem, the Honghu Lake Wetland Protection and Restoration Demonstration Project (HLWPRDP) has been implemented since 2004. A back propagation (BP) artificial neural network (ANN) approach was applied to evaluatinig the ecosystem health of the Honghu Lake wetland. And the effectiveness of the HLWPRDP was also assessed by comparing the ecosystem health before and after the project. Particularly, 12 ecosystem health indices were used as evaluation parameters to establish a set of three-layer BP ANNs. The output is one layer of ecosystem health index. After training and testing the BP ANNs, an optimal model of BP ANNs was selected to assess the ecosystem health of the Honghu Lake wetland. The result indicates that four stages can be identified based on the change of the ecosystem health from 1990 to 2008 and the ecosystem health index ranges from morbidity before the implementation of HLWPRDP (in 2002) to middle health after the implementation of the HLWPRDP (in 2005). It demonstrates that the HLWPRDP is effective and the BP ANN could be used as a tool for the assessment of ecosystem health.