Can existing institutions protect biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction? Experiences from two on-going processes

United Nations discussions on the governance of marine areas beyond national jurisdiction have questioned, but not yet reached a decision, on whether existing institutional agreements and structures are sufficient to meet global commitments to protect marine biodiversity, or if additional mechanisms may be required. This paper considers two very different efforts to protect marine biodiversity in these areas: (1) in the North-East Atlantic through the efforts of OSPAR Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic; and (2) in the central Atlantic, through the efforts of the Sargasso Sea Alliance led by the Bermuda government. In each case, action has been strongly supported by non-governmental organisations and subsequent progress has hinged upon on-going dedicated efforts of “champion” governments to bring other States on board. This paper outlines the difficulties that they have faced, and consequently why they have been time-consuming, and are not yet completed. The paper then considers 10 common recommendations that can be drawn from the experiences of these two distinct initiatives, and their relevance to on-going UN deliberations.     

国家经济地图集的设计和制图可视化的方法技术

国家经济地图集是第一部全面,系统反映我国当前经济社会发展面貌和空间分布的大型科学参考地图集,它的编制是一项重大的制图系统工程,本文简要地阐述了图集编制研究的主要方面,包括从分析我国经济社会发展和现状出发,确定图集设计总体目标,为科学和形象地表达我国经济社会特征,而采用的可视化方法技术,以及智能化的计算机制图系统在图集制中的应用。     

Moraine development at a small High‐Arctic valley glacier: Rieperbreen,Svalbard

Ice‐cored lateral and frontal moraine complexes, formed at the margin of the small, land‐based Rieperbreen glacier, central Svalbard, have been investigated through field observations and interpretations of aerial photographs (1936, 1961 and 1990). The main focus has been on the stratigraphical and dynamic development of these moraines as well as the disintegration processes. The glacier has been wasting down since the ‘Little Ice Age’ (LIA) maximum, and between 1936 and 1990 the glacier surface was lowered by 50–60 m and the front retreated by approximately 900 m. As the glacier wasted, three moraine ridges developed at the front, mainly as melting out of sediments from debris‐rich foliation and debris‐bands formed when the glacier was polythermal, probably during the LIA maximum. The disintegration of the moraines is dominated by wastage of buried ice, sediment gravity‐flows, meltwater activity and some frost weathering. A transverse glacier profile with a northward sloping surface has developed owing to the higher insolation along the south‐facing ice margin. This asymmetric geometry also strongly affects the supraglacial drainage pattern. Lateral moraines have formed along both sides of the glacier, although the insolation aspect of the glacier has resulted in the development of a moraine 60 m high along its northern margin. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Chemical evolution of the high redshift galaxies

We have tried to determine the rate of chemical evolution of high redshift galaxies from the observed redshift distribution of the heavy element absorption systems in the spectra of QSOs, taking into account the evolution in the intensity of the metagalactic UV ionizing radiation background, the radius and/or the co-moving number density of, and the fraction of mass in the form of gas in, the absorbers. The data for both the Lyman limit systems and the C IV systems have been fitted simultaneously. It seems that the abundance of carbon has possibly increased by about a factor of 5 to 20 from the cosmic time corresponding to the redshift ≃ 4 to 2. The data also suggest that either the radius or the co-moving number density of the galaxies increased with redshift up to z = 2.0 and decreased slowly thereafter. The total mass of the halo gas was higher in the past, almost equal to the entire mass of the galaxy at z = 4. The hydrogen column density distribution for Lyman limit systems predicted by the model is in agreement with the observed distribution.     

夏季南亚高压对流层中上层异常暖中心时空分布特征及其激发的大气波动

利用1979年1月至2016年12月ERA-interim月平均再分析资料和CAMP全球月降水资料,分析夏季（6—8月）南亚高压下方500 hPa到100 hPa暖中心的时空分布,从三维结构来揭示夏季南亚高压暖心特征.回归分析进一步探讨青藏高原上空暖中心对全球大气环流产生的可能影响.结果表明：南亚高压在150 hPa达到最强,这一层也是异常冷暖中心分界面,150 hPa以下有一强大异常暖中心,异常暖中心位于300 hPa附近,150 hPa以上为异常冷中心,中心位置位于70 hPa附近.异常暖中心从500 hPa向上逐渐向西向北倾斜,异常暖中心面积200 hPa达最大,150 hPa异常暖中心消失,100 hPa以上转变为异常冷中心.500~200 hPa异常暖中心表现出不断增暖的长期趋势（1979—2016）,100 hPa异常冷中心则表现出不断变冷的长期趋势（1979—2016）.去掉长期趋势的时间序列表现出明显的"准两年振荡"特征,异常暖中心位置在纬向上较稳定,在经向上表现出年际的"东西振荡".300 hPa异常暖中心是整个南亚高压的关键层.300 hPa异常暖中心对全球其他变量场进行回归分析.高度回归场表明,青藏高原上空异常暖中心在北半球中高纬度高度场上激发出3波的行星波,波特征在对流层中上层表现明显,波振幅随高度增高不断加强,在对流层中下层逐渐减弱并消失.纬向风回归场在对流层中上层表现出横跨南北半球的波列,这个波列在200 hPa振幅最大.经向风回归场在北半球中纬度（30°N—60°N）表现出7波型,说明南北能量交换频繁.降水回归场表明,东亚地区长江中下游至日本降水偏少,而其南北两侧降水偏多.     

预应力锚索防治高边坡地质灾害应用研究

本文通过对土夹石路段高边坡地质灾害的调查、分析,经过方案比选,采用预应力锚索技术进行治理;解决了土夹石地层的成孔、格构梁浇筑施工等技术难题;介绍预应力锚索的现场检测办法及结果,锚固工程达到了设计与有关规范要求的工程实践。     

陕西地区地磁湾扰异常

本文从频率域分析了陕西近年来记到的约十个地磁湾扰和磁扰。结果表明,渭河南北的垂直分量位相相反,水平分量也存在异常,源场极化方向和异常幅度有一走关系,同相和异相感应矢量指向渭河方向,这些都说明感应电流从渭河地堑下集中流过。据此推测在地壳下部或地幔上部存在一高导体。结合邻区地磁湾扰和其它短周期异常认为,这个高导体可向东西延伸上千公里长。     

Future goals for imaging

The demands imposed on the imaging system of an astronomical gamma-ray telescope are numerous; it must identify and resolve individual point sources, often in crowded regions of the sky; extended emission structures must be measured on angular dimensions which can extend up to the size scale of the Galactic plane; it must achieve these goals with high sensitivity for both the wide band continuum radiation as well a for discrete spectral line emissions, and ideally have as large a field of view as possible to enhance the probability of registering the unpredictable transient events which pervade the high energy sky. True imaging systems are currently under development for operation for energies up to about 100 keV, however the most practical tool for higher energies, for the time being, remains the coded mask. Some options are briefly reviewed.