Wintertime nutrients in the North Atlantic—new approaches and implications for new production estimates

Observations of wintertime nutrient concentrations in surface waters are scarce in the temperate and subarctic North Atlantic Ocean. Three new methods of their estimation from spring or early summer observations are described and evaluated. The methods make use of a priori knowledge of the vertical distribution of oxygen saturation and empirical relationships between nutrient concentrations and oxygen saturation. A south–north increase in surface water winter nutrient concentration is observed. Winter nitrate concentrations range from very low levels of about 0.5 μmol dm⁻³ at 33°N to about 13.5 μmol dm⁻³ at 60°N. Previous estimates of winter nitrate concentrations have been overestimates by up to 50%. At the Biotrans Site (47°N, 20°W), a typical station in the temperate Northeast Atlantic, a mean winter nitrate concentration of 8 μmol dm⁻³ is estimated, compared to recently published values between 11 and 12.5 μmol dm⁻³. It is shown that most of the difference is due to a contribution of remineralised nitrate that had not been recognized in previous winter nutrient estimates. Mesoscale variation of wintertime nitrate concentrations at Biotrans are moderate (less than ±15% of the regional mean value of about 8 μmol dm⁻³). Interannual variation of the regional mean is small, too. In the available dataset, there was only 1 year with a significantly lower regional mean winter nitrate concentration (7 μmol dm⁻³), presumably due to restricted deep mixing during an atypically warm winter. The significance of winter nitrate estimates for the assessment of spring-bloom new production and the interpretation of bloom dynamics is evaluated. Applying estimates of wintertime nitrate concentrations of this study, it is found that pre-bloom new production (0.275 mol N m⁻²) at Biotrans almost equals spring-bloom new production (0.3 mol N m⁻²). Using previous estimates of wintertime nitrate yields unrealistically high estimates of pre-bloom new production (1.21–1.79 mol N m⁻²) which are inconsistent with observed levels of primary production and the seasonal development of biomass.     

Regional yield estimation for winter wheat with MODIS-NDVI data in Shandong, China

The significance of crop yield estimation is well known in agricultural management and policy development at regional and national levels. The primary objective of this study was to test the suitability of the method, depending on predicted crop production, to estimate crop yield with a MODIS-NDVI-based model on a regional scale. In this paper, MODIS-NDVI data, with a 250 m resolution, was used to estimate the winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) yield in one of the main winter-wheat-growing regions. Our study region is located in Jining, Shandong Province. In order to improve the quality of remote sensing data and the accuracy of yield prediction, especially to eliminate the cloud-contaminated data and abnormal data in the MODIS-NDVI series, the Savitzky–Golay filter was applied to smooth the 10-day NDVI data. The spatial accumulation of NDVI at the county level was used to test its relationship with winter wheat production in the study area. A linear regressive relationship between the spatial accumulation of NDVI and the production of winter wheat was established using a stepwise regression method. The average yield was derived from predicted production divided by the growing acreage of winter wheat on a county level. Finally, the results were validated by the ground survey data, and the errors were compared with the errors of agro-climate models. The results showed that the relative errors of the predicted yield using MODIS-NDVI are between −4.62% and 5.40% and that whole RMSE was 214.16 kg ha⁻¹ lower than the RMSE (233.35 kg ha⁻¹) of agro-climate models in this study region. A good predicted yield data of winter wheat could be got about 40 days ahead of harvest time, i.e. at the booting-heading stage of winter wheat. The method suggested in this paper was good for predicting regional winter wheat production and yield estimation.     

青藏高原冬小麦田辐射能量收支的初步研究

通过对青藏高原冬小麦田净全辐射各分量的观测资料分析，论述了净全辐射及其各分量的日变化特征；计算得出冬小麦抽穗—乳熟期麦田平均反射率为13.3%，净全辐射占总辐射百分率:白天75%，包括夜间67.4%；指出了净全辐射和总辐射间存在良好的线性关系，给出了由总辐射计算净全辐射的经验公式。     

Global scale annual and semi-annual variations of daytime NmF2 in the high solar activity years

The annual and semi-annual variations of the ionosphere are investigated in the present paper by using the daytime F2 layer peak electron concentration (NmF2) observed at a global ionosonde network with 104 stations. The main features are outlined as follows. (1) The annual variations are most pronounced at magnetic latitudes of 40–60° in both hemispheres, and usually manifest as winter anomalies; Below magnetic latitude of 40° as well as in the tropical region they are much weaker and winter anomalies that are not obvious. (2) The semi-annual variations, which are usually peak in March or April in most regions, are generally weak in the near-pole regions and strong in the far-pole regions of both hemispheres. (3) Compared with their annual components, the semi-annual variations in the tropical region are more significant.In order to explain the above results, we particularly analyze the global atomic/molecular ratio of [O/N2] at the F2 layer peak height by the MSIS90 model. The results show that the annual variation of [O/N2] is closely related with that of NmF2 prevailing in mid-latitudes and [O/N2] annual variation usually may lead to the winter anomalies of NmF2 occurring in the near-pole region. Moreover, NmF2 semi-annual variations appearing in the tropical region also have a close relationship with the variation of [O/N2]. On the other hand, the semi-annual variations of NmF2 in the far-pole region cannot be simply explained by that of [O/N2], but the variation of the solar zenith angle may also have a significant contribution.     

Tectonothermal events in the Olympic IOCG Province constrained by apatite and REE-phosphate geochronology

The Olympic iron oxide–copper–gold province in South Australia contains numerous deposits and prospects, including the Olympic Dam Cu–U–Au–Ag deposit and the Acropolis prospect. The Acropolis prospect comprises massive, coarse-grained magnetite–apatite veins partly replaced by a hematite-stable assemblage. The apatite grains in the veins contain zones with abundant inclusions of other minerals (including monazite and xenotime) and low trace-element concentrations relative to the inclusion-free zones. The inclusion-rich apatite zones are interpreted to be formed from the recrystallisation of the inclusion-free apatite and remobilisation of U, Th and rare earth element (REE) from apatite into monazite and xenotime. Apatite, monazite and xenotime are all established U–Th–Pb geochronometers and offer the potential to constrain the alteration history of the Acropolis prospect. The LA-ICPMS U–Pb age of inclusion-free apatite is within error of the age of the host volcanic units (ca 1.59 Ga). Inclusion-rich apatite yields both near-concordant analyses that are within error of the inclusion-free apatite as well as highly disturbed (discordant) analyses. The most concordant analyses of monazite (Th–Pb) inclusions and xenotime (U–Pb) inclusions and rim grains indicate an alteration event occurred at ca 1.37 Ga and possibly also at ca 500 Ma. The disparity in age of the inclusion-rich apatite and the REE-phosphate inclusions (and rim grains) is suggested to be owing to the apatite being initially recrystallised at ca 1.59 Ga and modified again by a later event that also formed (or coarsened) most of the inclusions. Partial resetting of the majority of the monazite inclusions as well as the presence of significant amounts of common Pb has complicated the interpretation of the monazite results. In contrast, xenotime is a more robust geochronometer in this setting. The ages of the two post-1.59 Ga events that appear to have affected the Acropolis prospect do not correspond to any events known to have occurred in the Gawler Craton. The earlier (ca 1.37 Ga) age instead corresponds best with metamorphic–magmatic–hydrothermal activity in Laurentia, consistent with the proximity of Laurentia and the Gawler Craton inferred from palaeogeographic reconstructions. The later (ca 500 Ma) event corresponds to the Delamerian Orogeny and has been shown by prior studies to have also affected the Olympic Dam deposit.     

青岛奥运水域主要污染物环境容量的预测

通过对青岛奥运水域现场调查和资料分析,确定了奥运水域污染物的主要来源和主要污染物,然后在潮流模拟的基础上,利用物质输运方程数值模拟了2000~2003年污染物浓度的空间分布,其结果与现状调查基本吻合。最后再利用该输运方程,预测了奥运帆船水域的化学需氧量(COD)、氨氮(NH4 -N)、总磷(TP)的环境容量(中潮时分别为:69.948 t/d,7.46 t/d,0.5455 t/d),为奥运水域的目标管理提供科学依据。     

青岛市作为2008年奥运会海上赛场可行性分析

为支持北京申办2008年奥运会，青岛已在前年四月份、六月份和去年四月份先后三次向国家体育总局和北京市政府递交了要求承办2008年奥运会海上项目的申办报告。前年十月国际帆船联合会主席保尔－亨德森先生在视察青岛时认为，就青岛的城市环境、水域状况而完全有条件承办奥运会的帆船、帆板比赛，同意把奥运帆船比赛放在青岛举行。本文从青岛市优越的自然环境有社会环境来分析将其作为奥运海上赛场的可行性。     

Above and belowground phenology of four Mediterranean sub-shrubs. Preliminary results on root–shoot competition

Above and belowground phenology are critical aspects for plant life in areas of seasonal climate like Mediterranean regions. However, fine root growth phenology is rarely considered in most phenological studies. In this article we describe the above and belowground phenology of four species of Mediterranean sub-shrubs growing along a gradient of temperature and water availability, with special attention at the relationship between both processes. Observations were conducted monthly over a minimum of 12 months per species. Fine root growth varied significantly throughout the year, being higher in autumn than in spring and minimum in summer. In the species growing in cold areas, root growth was also reduced during winter. Shoot growth was maximum in spring for the four study species, buts its beginning was related to the site temperature, being earlier in those species growing in warmer sites. The species displaying a short vegetative period tended to separate root and shoot growth processes throughout the year. These results emphasize the importance of water availability and winter cold on fine root growth. A trade-off appears to exist between the duration of the vegetative period and the overlap between root and shoot growth processes.     

江西省冬季异常气候特征分析

引入异常度的概念,对江西省48a冬季气候进行分析,建立了冬季异常气候(干湿冷暖)划分的客观标准,并根据天气气候学原理对形成干湿冷暖异常冬季气候的成因进行了对比分析,得出了一些有意义的结果。这些结果在冬季气候预测中有参考价值。     

青藏高原东部牧区冬季雪灾天气的形成及其预报

对青藏高原东部牧区 ( 1967— 1996年 )冬季发生的成灾性降雪天气过程进行了较为详细的分析。探讨了北冰洋低压槽、贝加尔湖低压、东亚大槽和南支槽等欧亚大型天气系统活动对高原冬季降雪天气形势形成的作用。归纳出两种高原冬季成灾性降雪天气形成的模型。重点讨论了高原气流波动不稳定对高原波槽形成的量化指标 ,找出了若干高原低温—降雪过程预报的统计关系 ,并对高原冬季的雪灾预报提出了着眼点