Culture,demography and biogeography of sponge science: From past conferences to strategic research?

Perceived changes in the culture of sponge science and sponge conferences served as motivation for an evaluation of the sponge science community and research, over time and at present. Observed changes included a decrease in proceedings publications on sponge fossils and freshwater sponges, sponges from temperate environments, review papers and data syntheses, frequency of aquarium studies, and number of species investigated per publication. Publications on recent sponges, hexactinellids, calcareans, marine, Indo‐Pacific and warm‐water sponges increased, as well as the number of authors per publication and the proportion of field studies. Studies at the level of specimens and ultrastructure were gradually replaced by molecular approaches, but studies at the community level remained stable. The five sub‐disciplines morphology/taxonomy, phylogeny/evolution, physiology, ecology and faunistics also retained about equal proportions over time. Conference publications related to taxonomy, phylogeny and biodiversity prevailed, whereas those on management and conservation were rare, possibly because studies on sponge recovery, survival and mortality were also scarce. The community of sponge scientists has grown and become more diverse over time, presently representing 72 nations. The gender distribution evened out since the first sponge conference and presently favours women at early and men at late career stages. Although stated research interests are generally dominated by physiology and ecology, taxonomy and evolution are favoured after retirement. Sponge science has become more dynamic, but maybe also more competitive and less inclusive. We now face the dual challenge of safeguarding against the loss of some sub‐disciplines, and fostering the collaborative, helpful culture characteristic of sponge science.     

Progress in the Research on Benefit-sharing and Ecological Compensation Mechanisms for Transboundary Rivers

Transboundary rivers have important geopolitical and geo-economic connotations, but riparian states of transboundary rivers are often driven by their own rapid population growth and economic development to be-come involved in regional conflicts about the development and use of water resources. Therefore, finding a balance between the need for fair and reasonable development of water resources and the effective protection of environment from an ecological perspective has become a major problem faced by the international community. This paper begins with consideration of international water laws related to transboundary rivers and then reviews advances in the research on benefit-sharing, ecological compensation mechanisms, and adaptive management systems. We believe that existing international water laws form a complete legal system and that more attention needs to be paid to transboundary cooperation and sustainable water resource use. With respect to how transboundary water conflicts are resolved, there is a trend to move away from single water resource allocation (a zero-sum game) to benefit-sharing in order to achieve a win-win situation for riparian states, but there are still some difficulties in transboundary ecological compensation. In China, the central government has paid attention to horizontal ecological compensation between upstream and downstream, offering guidance to promote establishment of inter-province ecological compensation. Based on existing practice, horizontal ecological compensations are still in their infancy, small in scale, supported by a weak legal system, lacking market mechanisms to encourage their use and relying on fiscal transfers as the method of payment. In the future, China will need to intensify its research on legal system development, international cooperation, and benefit-sharing as these impact transboundary water resources. Because government can be seen as a management department with multiple identities (enabler, regulator and buyer), to improve adaptive transboundary ecological compensation mechanisms, government must develop as soon as possible data sharing platforms, standards of water consumption behaviors and intergovernmental policies (or ordinances).     

国际地理学期刊的主要特征

依据2015年6月发布的2014年度国际期刊引证报告,将SCI收录的46种地理学期刊按学科分为5大类,对各学科期刊的影响因子、总被引频次等相关引证指标进行分析,并对各专业地理学期刊2009-2014年间的学术影响力增长情况进行总结。同时,整理国际地理学期刊的年刊文量、出版国别、出版周期和出版公司等期刊出版资料,对国际地理学期刊的学科类型分布、学术影响指标、编辑出版状况之间的相关影响特征进行探讨。     

第六届国际地震岩土工程大会综述

第六届国际地震岩土工程大会于2015年11月1-4日在新西兰克莱斯特彻奇市召开。本文介绍了大会概况;阐述了大会设置的21个专题,并综述了场地效应和小区划,斜坡、河堤、大坝与废弃物填埋场,地震危险性与强地面运动,土壤液化与侧向扩展共4个重要专题分会的交流内容;通报了国际地震岩土工程及其问题技术委员会(TC203)全委会内容和决议事项;论述了相关领域的研究进展与亮点,包括新西兰坎特伯雷地震灾后重建催生了岩土工程共享数据库建设取得突破性进展;土壤液化与侧向扩展研究成为国际岩土地震工程一大热点研究领域;提出了在液化机理、液化势评价、液化后变形和基于性能的抗液化工程设计等方面需要进一步研究的重要问题;运动颗粒模拟方法实现了对斜坡破坏的全过程数值模拟;"Ishihara-Idriss-Finn演讲特别分会"成为本次会议一大亮点;2010-2011年新西兰坎特伯雷地震序列(CES)发生后,美国与新西兰开展了非常紧密的合作调查与研究工作,并在地震序列认识、灾害快速评估、确保稳健恢复的政策与规划分析等方面取得了多方受益的科学进展。     

Delivering environmental flows in the Murray-Darling Basin (Australia)—legal and governance aspects

Abstract

The hydrology of water-dependent ecosystems around the world has been altered as a result of flow regulation and extraction for a variety of purposes including agricultural and urban water supply. The flow regime of the Murray-Darling Basin in Australia is no exception, with attendant impacts on the health of the environment. Restoration of parts of the flow regime is a key feature of environmental flow delivery. However, environmental flow delivery in a system that is managed primarily to provide a secure and stable supply for irrigation presents challenges for managers seeking to return more natural flow variability in line with ecosystem requirements. The institutional arrangements governing releases of water from storage can influence the ability of managers to respond to natural cues, such as naturally rising flows in a river. As such, the legal and governance aspects of environmental flow delivery are likely to be important influences on the outcomes achieved.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Guest editor M. Acreman

Citation Banks, S.A. and Docker, B.B., 2014. Delivering environmental flows in the Murray-Darling Basin (Australia)—legal and governance aspects. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (3–4), 688–699.     

Assessment of environmental flows under limited data availability: case study of the Acheloos River,Greece

Abstract

The lower course of the Acheloos River is an important hydrosystem in Greece, heavily modified by a cascade of four hydropower dams upstream, which is now being extended by two more dams in the upper course. The design of the dams and hydropower facilities that are in operation has not considered any environmental criteria. However, in the last 50 years, numerous methodologies have been proposed to assess the negative impacts of such projects to both the abiotic and biotic environment, and to provide decision support towards establishing appropriate constraints on their operation, typically in terms of minimum flow requirements. In this study, seeking a more environmentally-friendly operation of the hydrosystem, we investigate the outflow policy from the most downstream dam, examining alternative environmental flow approaches. Accounting for data limitations, we recommend the basic flow method, which is parsimonious and suitable for Mediterranean rivers, whose flows exhibit strong variability across seasons. We also show that the wetted perimeter–discharge method, which is an elementary hydraulic approach, provides consistent results, even without using any flow data. Finally, we examine the adaptation of the proposed flow policy (including artificial flooding) to the real-time hydropower generation schedule, and the management of the resulting conflicts.

Editor Z.W. Kundzewicz; Guest editor M. Acreman

Citation Efstratiadis, A., Tegos, A., Varveris, A., and Koutsoyiannis, D., 2014. Assessment of environmental flows under limited data availability: case study of the Acheloos River, Greece. Hydrological Sciences Journal, 59 (3–4), 731–750.     

中国国际河流研究进展及展望

我国因发育了亚洲大陆的主要国际河流而成为全球最重要的上游水道国。近30年来,在全球化趋势下,国际河流的合理利用与保护、生态变化与跨境影响、地缘合作与安全维护等,广受国际关注,成为地理、生态和地缘政治等学科交叉研究的热点。本文按“国际河流”、“跨境水资源”、“跨境生态安全”等关键词,从《地理学报》及其英文版J. Geographical Sciences中检索近30年来发表的相关文献,以此为主要依据,回顾地理学对我国国际河流研究取得的主要进展,判识存在的问题和所面临的挑战;在此基础上,结合科学发展的趋势和我国地缘合作等重大需求,展望研究前景。     

环境与工程地球物理的新进展

环境与工程地球物理是地球物理中的一个重要方向,并紧密与社会发展和人们生活各方面相结合,未来将倍受重视．本文在介绍2004年武汉召开的国际环境与工程地球物理学术会议(ICEEG)基础上,阐述了环境与工程地球物理领域的一些新进展和主要发展趋势．并有针对性地介绍了我国环境与工程地球物理现状。     

上海天文台2010年工作总结

总结了2010年度中国科学院上海天文台在科研、国际合作交流、人才培养和引进、佘山科技园区建设、科研管理、精神文明建设等方面取得的成果。     

典型国际海洋划界案例相似性研究

简要研究了2012年国际法院最新判例——尼加拉瓜诉哥伦比亚领土和海洋划界案,总结了本案中国际法院关于海上争议岛屿主权判定把握的要点,国际法院受理该案件的理由和受理的内容。国际法院用三阶段方法确立尼加拉瓜和哥伦比亚海上边界。提出了维护我国海洋权益必须研究国际最新判例相似性的建议。