Concentration of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in sediment cores of Sundarban mangrove wetland, northeastern part of Bay of Bengal (India)

The paper presents the first comprehensive survey of congener profiles (12 congeners) of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in core sediment samples (<63 microm) covering seven sites in Sundarban mangrove wetland (India). Gas-chromatographic analyses were carried out in GC-Ms/Ms for tri- to hepta- brominated congeners. Results pointed out a non-homogenous contamination of the wetland with summation operator(12) PBDE values ranging from 0.08 to 29.03 ngg(-1), reflecting moderate to low contamination closely in conformity to other Asian aquatic environments. The general order of decreasing congener contribution to the total load was: BDE 47>99>100>154, similar to the distribution pattern worldwide. Although tetrabromodiphenyl ether BDE 47 was found in all samples followed by hexabromodiphenyl ether BDE-154, they were not necessarily the dominant congeners. No uniform temporal trend on PBDE levels was recorded probably due to particular hydrological characteristics of the wetland and/on non-homologous inputs from point sources (untreated municipal wastewater and local industries, electronic wastes from the dump sites, etc.) of these compounds. Because of the propensity of PBDEs to accumulate in various compartments of wildlife and human food webs, evaluation of biological tissues should be undertaken as a high priority.     

基于VirtualGIS技术的龙口市流域综合治理研究

将虚拟再现技术、地理信息系统技术、遥感技术集成在一起构建虚拟再现地理信息系统，通过对不同时期流域地理环境的虚 拟再现，追踪其演化过程和认识其存在的问题，经过三维建模分析，提出流域综合治理措施，并对预期治理效果进行预测与分析。     

基于根系解剖结构的金沙江干热河谷土壤侵蚀速率估算

基于侵蚀过程会导致树木生长环境变化,进而改变根系生长生理特征的基本研究思想,以金沙江干热河谷龙川江流域为典型区,从树根细胞解剖结构和组合特征的变异中提取土壤侵蚀信息,探索和发展了基于树木生理生态的土壤侵蚀研究新方法与技术。结果表明,不同侵蚀强度下根系的年轮分布特征不一致,其中偏心率大小顺序为:局部暴露根系>浅埋根系>完全暴露根系,且偏心率与根系以上土层厚度、暴露程度存在显著性相关;根系导管面积是反演侵蚀过程的敏感指标,早材导管面积的变异是确定根系暴露时间的重要依据之一;龙川江流域土壤流失厚度为1.47~4.47 mm/a,平均侵蚀模数约为3 692 t(/km2.a)。     

Reconstruction of nonmonotonic electron density profiles of the Martian topside ionosphere

One of the problems in reconstructing the real ionosphere from an ionogram is the occurrence of a ‘valley,’ where electron density decreases with altitude and make a non-monotonic profile. For the case of the Earth ionosphere, the ordinary and extraordinary ray data, accompanied with an empirical model, based on the observations, are necessary to obtain a mathematical solution for a ‘valley,’ such as the region between the E and F layers. MARSIS/MEX is a topside sounder designed to observe the ionosphere of Mars. Some ‘valley’ structures were found in the ionograms measured by MARSIS. The echoes of the extraordinary ray are not available owing to the absence of the strong magnetic field on Mars. Therefore, it is difficult to have a mathematical solution for the valleys in the Martian ionosphere. In this paper, a least square method with a simple model is presented to solve the ‘valley’ problem in the topside ionosphere of Mars. The electron density profiles with ‘valleys’ observed by the Radio Occultation experiment onboard MGS are used to rebuild the virtual depths at MARSIS frequencies. The reconstructed electron density profile by the least square method with a simple model from the rebuilt virtual depth curve is compared with the original electron density profile. It is proved that this method can reproduce small valleys in the profile of the Martian ionosphere well.     

Electrical earth resistivity surveying for delineating the characteristics of ground water in a semi‐arid region in the Khanasser Valley,northern Syria

A resistivity survey is conducted in Khanasser Valley, a semi‐arid region in northern Syria, to delineate the characteristics of ground water affected by the salt‐water intrusion related to Al‐Jaboul Sabkha. Existing wells were used to measure salinity and conductivity of water samplings. Vertical electrical sounding was carried out near the existing wells. The combination of resistivity and hydrogeological data enables the establishment of empirical relationships between earth resistivity, water resistivity, and the amount of total dissolved solids. These relationships are then used in order to derive salinity maps for electrode spacings of 70, 100, and 150 m. The distribution of fresh, brackish and salt‐water zones and their variations in space along two longitudinal profiles (LP1 and LP2) are established through converting subsurface depth–resistivity models into different ground‐water areas. The constructed ground‐water area maps allow interfaces between different water zones to be determined. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

海河流域平原浅层地下水消耗与可持续利用

通过对海河流域平原区地下水储量消耗过程、空间分布及机理研究,揭示了区内地下水系统与相邻层圈之间水分通量因人为活动影响而发生剧变的规律,并在现状开采与补给条件下警告性预测了地下水资源可持续利用前景.     

Evolution of undercut slopes on abandoned incised meanders in the Eastern Highland Rim of Tennessee, USA

Field surveys, location-for-time reasoning, and computer modeling were used to study the evolution of slopes on valley walls of abandoned bedrock meanders on the Eastern Highland Rim, Tennessee. Hillslopes on the undercut slopes of cutoff incised meanders were ordered as to relative age by the height of their meander floors above the modern stream level. The assumption is that the undercut slope is actively eroded by the stream until abandonment of the meander, at which time the slope begins to evolve to a different form. More-advanced stages of evolution occur on walls of higher meanders that were abandoned earlier. The most rapid change in this initial form is the elimination of a free face, which occurs soon after the meander is abandoned. In addition, the hillslopes associated with even the lowest (youngest) cutoff meanders show somewhat gentler overall gradients than the actively undercut slopes. Hillslopes associated with meanders 3 to about 20 m above modern stream level maintain straight segments with angles showing only a slight decrease from the 36–38° associated with the lowest cutoffs; overall angles decrease, however, as the straight segment becomes shorter. The oldest slopes, those on cutoffs 30 m or greater above modern stream level, have developed into convex–concave slopes with maximum slopes of 15°.A hillslope evolution model based on previously published algorithms was used to simulate the transition of actively undercut hillslopes into hillslopes on abandoned meanders. Hillslope modeling is particularly useful in this setting. If the valley incision rate is known, an age can be estimated for the cutoff and hence for the hillslope. Alternatively, if hillslope process rates are known, a model age obtained for the hillslope can be used to estimate an incision rate. Even where both incision rates and hillslope process rates are poorly constrained, as in the present setting, modeling allows assumptions about specific rates to be evaluated by determining their implications for other rates. For example, for three cutoff meanders along one stream, best-fit criteria were used to select process rates for the model. Model ages of hillslopes were then obtained and compared with those calculated from a valley-incision rate measured elsewhere in the same physiographic province. For two of the hillslopes, model ages were found to be much younger than those calculated from the incision rate. In order to make the two ages agree, unreasonably low process rates had to be used in the model, thus implying that the incision rate probably underestimates the actual incision rate in this valley.Experimentation with heights of initial profiles, again using best-fit criteria, suggests that since abandonment of the highest cutoff, the plateau has been downwasting at a rate about one-fourth that of the valley incision rate, a finding in agreement with published rates of chemical denudation in the area.     

Source parameters for the January 1975 Brawley — Imperial valley earthquake swarm

The source parameters, moment, stress drop and source dimension are estimated for 61 events from the January 1975 Brawley earthquake swarm. Earthquakes studied range in local magnitude from 1.0 to 4.7. Stress drops range from 1 to 636 bars and increase with source depth. It is estimated that the sedimentary structure of the Imperial Valley amplifies shear waves by a factor of 2 to 3 in addition to the free surface amplification of 2. Estimates of moment from 10 sec surface waves are 4 to 6 times larger than the moment estimated from the relatively flat part of the local body wave spectrum at 1 sec. This may be due to after-slip on the fault, a long thin fault, or partial stress drop. It is shown that the experimentally determined ratio of stress drop to apparent stress should be approximately 4.0 when spectrum integration is used to obtainS-wave energy and theP-wave energy is 1/3 theS-wave energy.