Characteristics of bottom dissolved oxygen in Long Island Sound,New York

The variability of bottom dissolved oxygen (DO) in Long Island Sound, New York, is examined using water quality monitoring data collected by the Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection from 1995 to 2004. Self-organizing map analysis indicates that hypoxia always occurs in the Narrows during summer and less frequently in the Western and the Central Basins. The primary factor controlling the bottom DO, changes spatially and temporally. For non-summer seasons, the levels of bottom DO are strongly associated with water temperature, which means DO availability is primarily driven by solubility. During summer, stratification intensifies under weak wind conditions and bottom DO starts to decrease and deviate from the saturation level except for stations in the Eastern Basin. For the westernmost and shallow (<15 m) stations, bottom DO is correlated with the density stratification (represented by difference between surface and bottom density). In contrast, at deep stations (>20 m), the relationship between oxygen depletion and stratification is not significant. For stations located west of the Central Basin, bottom DO continues to decrease during summer until it reaches its minimum when bottom temperature is around 19–20 °C. In most cases the recovery to saturation levels at the beginning of fall is fast, but not necessarily associated with increased wind mixing. Therefore, we propose that the DO recovery may be a manifestation of either the reduced microbial activity combined with the depletion of organic matter or horizontal exchange. Hypoxic volume is weakly correlated to the summer wind speed, spring total nitrogen, spring chlorophyll a, and maximum river discharge. When all variables are combined in a multiple regression, the coefficient of determination (r²) is 0.92. Surprisingly, the weakest variable is the total nitrogen, because when it is excluded the coefficient r² only drops to 0.84. Spring bloom seems to be an important source of organic carbon pool and biological uptake of oxygen plays a more crucial role in the seasonal evolution of bottom DO than previously thought. Our results indicate that the reassessment phase of the Long Island Sound Total Maximum Daily Load policy on nitrogen loading will most likely fail, because it ignores the contributions of the spring organic carbon pool and river discharge. Also, it is questionable whether the goal of 58.5% anthropogenic nitrogen load reduction is enough.     

Composition of plagioclases in volcanic rocks of King George Island, Antarctica with reference to the petrogenetic significance

Plagioclases occur mainly as phenocrysts in volcanic rocks of King George Island, South Shetland Islands, West Antarctica. In basaltic andesites and andesites of Keller Peninsula and Ullman Spur (Admiralty Bay), they are high structure state labradorite-andesines; and in high-A1 basalts and basaltic andesites of Barton and Weaver peninsulas (Maxwell Bay), they are high structure state bytownite-anorthites.∑REE, La/Yb ratios and δEu values of plagioclases from Admiralty Bay are higher than those from Maxwell Bay. All plagioclases have rather identical chondritenormalized transitional element distribution patterns, probably reflecting that crystal structure rather than composition of plagioclase controls their diversity. Compositions of plagioclases depend chiefly on those of their host rocks, compositional differences of plagioclases reveal that basaltic magmas in the Admiralty Bay area are more evolved than in the Maxwell Bay area.     

珠江口典型海岛周边水域浮游植物分布特征及其影响因素*

旅游业为海岛带来可观经济效益的同时, 人类活动也导致水体生态环境恶化, 如水体富营养化加剧、赤潮频发等。文章通过对珠江口东南部典型海岛——庙湾岛和外伶仃岛周边水域丰水期和枯水期现场环境数据与浮游植物分布特征的对比研究, 分析珠江径流等自然因素以及人类活动对河口天然海岛周边水体生态的潜在影响。枯水期外伶仃岛和庙湾岛周边水域海水分别镜检鉴定出76种和74种浮游植物, 两个海岛浮游植物平均细胞密度分别为2.62×10⁴个·L^-1和2.08×10⁴个·L^-1; 丰水期则分别鉴定出38种和47种浮游植物, 平均细胞密度分别为52.91×10⁴个·L^-1和170.57× 10⁴个·L^-1。在外伶仃岛和庙湾岛, 丰水期中肋骨条藻(Skeletonema coatatum)均为绝对优势种, 而枯水期两个岛的最主要优势种分别为窄隙角毛藻(Chaetoceros affinis)和新月筒柱藻(Cylindrotheca closterium), 物种多样性指数均明显高于丰水期。两个海岛微型浮游植物相对于其他两个粒级常占据优势地位, 但在丰水期, 小型浮游植物贡献明显上升, 其中外伶仃岛相对于枯水期由16.32%升至26.75%, 庙湾岛则由12.12%升高至24.78%。两个海岛在丰水期和枯水期均仅检出聚球藻(Synechococcus, Syn)和真核微微型藻类(eukaryotic, Euk)两大微微型浮游植物类群, 两者细胞密度分别为~10⁷个·L^-1及~10⁸个·L^-1量级。与环境因子的对比分析表明, 两个海岛浮游植物的区域分布与季节变化受多种因素影响, 其季节性差异主要受径流影响强度、影响范围以及相应的盐度、营养盐等环境因素的季节变化所调控。丰水期岛屿屏蔽效应对浮游植物丰度的区域分布特征有显著影响, 无论小型浮游植物还是微微型浮游植物均发现存在迎流面出现丰度高值分布的现象, 但对群落结构的分布影响不明显; 在枯水期, 水体环境很可能主要受人类活动与水体垂直混合扰动的综合影响, 总体上浮游植物分布的区域差异较小。     

群岛峡道浓盐水排放扩散的三维数值模拟

采用三维潮流温盐数学模型对六横岛附近海域的水动力环境及盐度场分布进行数值模拟,并以实测资料进行验证,所建立模型可以较好地反映该海域潮流动力特征及盐度场的分布情况。利用验证后的三维数学模型,对海水淡化工程浓盐水排放后盐度场分布进行计算,将排放后的盐度分布与工程前进行对比分析,并推算盐升面积及垂向盐度增量。结果表明,海水淡化工程排放的浓盐水对六横岛海域盐度分布的影响主要集中在排水口附近的底层,影响区域呈带状分布,最大盐度增量为1.2左右,且排水口附近海域出现盐度垂向分层。     

利用TOPEX卫星高度计资料分析台湾岛周边海域巨浪和大风特征

卫星高度计实现了对全球性或区域性的海洋参量的实时监测,TOPEX卫星高度计提供了迄今为止时间序列最长、数据质量最高的全球海面风速和有效波高的同步观测资料。利用TOPEX卫星高度计资料,分析了有效波高4m以上的巨浪在台湾岛周边海域的时空分布特征,结果表明台湾岛周边海域巨浪的分布具有明显的季节特征。每年平均有效波高最大值大多数出现在夏季,春季是1a中有效波高最小的季节,而秋季和冬季是巨浪出现频率最高的季节。波高大于6m的巨浪大都出现在台湾岛东部及东北部海域,在南部海域出现较少。     

海南岛西北部莲花山周缘海相地层的区内对比及意义

根据岩性、产状和地貌等特征,对海南岛西北部莲花山周缘海岸出露的前全新世海相地层5个典型剖面进行区内对比,以恢复该套地层的产出序列,并推测海相地层的分布范围。结合海相地层的沉积时代和莲花山周缘海岸的地貌特征,探讨了该海岸带的地貌演化过程:中更新世以前,有河流自东南向西北经德义岭、莲花山入海,海相地层沉积区属于滨岸环境,是该海岸带当时受海水进退作用的主要区域,接受着波浪从北面、河流从南面带来的沉积物;中更新世至今,受雷琼地区火山活动的影响,河流被隆起的火山锥阻挡而截流或改道,海相地层沉积区则被抬升成为陆地,并在全新世海岸侵蚀作用下,形成了现今宽广的海蚀平台,海岸后退平均速率约为10 cm/a。     

西南极利文斯顿岛含砾泥岩层的发现及其地质意义

西南极南设得兰群岛利文斯顿岛赫德半岛中分布的一套主要由复理石相岩石组成的低级变质沉积岩（迈尔斯陡崖组）被认为是中－ 新生代火山岩的基底（晚古生代－ 早中生代？）。以前含砾泥岩在迈尔斯陡崖组局部地点曾有零星报道,但详细的地质填图确认此地有四层含砾泥岩分布。研究表明,这些含砾泥岩可能是水下碎屑流沉积,其生成环境可能是海底扇中扇的水道。对比在南极半岛所发现有大量的含砾泥岩,则进一步表明利文斯顿岛早期地质特征可与南极半岛相比,两者在中－ 新生代岩浆弧形成之前处于相同的构造环境。     

Perceptions of local community members towards foreign aid: A case study of Vava'u,Tonga

Foreign aid has arguably played a significant role in the economic development of the Pacific Island countries. Tonga is deemed to have succeeded in implementing the principles of the Paris Declaration of 2005, especially Ownership, Alignment and Harmonisation, by aid funding channelled through state institutions. Nevertheless, it is still unknown if the aid effect has reached civil society, and how community members perceive aid. This article examines the perceptions of community members towards foreign aid, using the case study of the archipelago of Vava'u, Tonga.     

Playing Lotto with Rotto? Tourism,the environment and gambling with the ethos of a Western Australian island

Rottnest Island is a popular holiday destination offshore from Perth, the capital city of Western Australia. Rottnest (or Rotto) attracts approximately 500 000 visitors annually. The island is managed by a statutory government authority, the Rottnest Island Authority (RIA), for the purposes of providing recreation and holiday facilities and services, and protecting its natural and cultural values. While there are advantages in management by one body, there appears to be a conflict in managing both the tourism business and the environment, largely as a result of funding issues. While further tourism development would boost the RIA's self-funded operating budget, increased pressures may compromise the island environment and the Rottnest ethos, which revolves around a relaxed and casual social ambiance. The RIA aims to develop Rottnest as a model for sustainability, but are dilemmas surrounding economic sustainability potentially risking the island's environmental and social sustainability? This paper concludes that in the pursuit of economic returns from tourism, Rottnest Island's environmental and social values face an uncertain future.     

A high resolution proxy-climate record from an arctic lake with annually-laminated sediments on Devon Island, Nunavut, Canada

Sediments from a 3 ha lake (75 °34.34N, 89 °18.55W) from the coastal region of northern Devon Island, Nunavut, Canada, contain discrete laminations in the deepest part of the basin. The laminations are varves as indicated by the correspondence between counts and thickness measurements of the couplets and ²¹⁰Pb dating. A 14 cm core representing 150 years of sedimentation contained laminated couplets consisting of a lighter inorganic layer with a higher percentage of calcium and magnesium, alternating with fine darker bands, typically more cohesive, and comprising higher proportions of silica and carbon. A reddish oxidation zone with higher iron and aluminum frequently separates the laminations. The dark layer represents a biogenic component deposited in summer and is made cohesive by bacterial filaments among the other particles. The light inorganic layer represents clastic deposition from allochthonous sources. Deposition rates were relatively consistent through the core with an increase in varve thickness in the 1950s. Diatom concentrations in the sediments increased by two orders of magnitude in this century, with major increases in the 1920s and 1950s. The increase in varve thickness and diatom abundance coincides with an increase in summer melt percentage in an ice core from the Devon Island Ice Cap (Koerner, 1977). The relatively high sedimentation rate (0.15 cm yr^-1) coupled with the consistency of deposition makes this lake a significant indicator for recent climate changes of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago.