Importance of feeding on regenerable parts of prey for juvenile stone flounder Platichthys bicoloratus in estuarine habitats

Prey availability is one of the most important factors affecting the quality of nursery grounds. Estuaries play an important role as nursery grounds for juvenile stone flounder, but the mechanism behind the consistently high availability of prey has never been examined. This study investigates which prey is mainly selected by juvenile stone flounder (15–55 mm standard length) in the estuary of the Natori River, northern Japan. In a cage experiment, juveniles showed positive selection for the palps of the spionid polychaete Pseudopolydora kempi in March, and for the siphons of the bivalve Nuttallia olivacea in April, May and June in both sandy and muddy-sand habitats. This selective predation showed that sublethal predation on regenerable parts of invertebrates is important for stone flounder. Nuttallia olivacea, the dominant bivalve in the estuary, was more abundant and in better somatic condition in the sandy area in spite of the stronger siphon-cropping pressure by juvenile stone flounder. These results confirm that sublethal predation on highly abundant benthos plays an important role in forming estuarine habitats into areas of high prey availability for juvenile stone flounder, which leads to their high growth rate.     

High resolution magnetostratigraphy and deposition cycles in the Nihewan Basin (North China) and their significance for stone artifact dating

Three lacustrine sections in the Nihewan Basin, Xiaodukou, Donggutuo and Xiaochangliang (40.1-40.4°N; 114.6-114.7°E), were closely sampled for magnetostratigraphic and deposition cycle analysis. Rock magnetic investigations show that the characteristic remanent magnetization of the sediments is mainly carried by magnetite and hematite. The Xiaodukou sequence is one of the most complete sections in the basin and has recorded substantial parts of the Brunhes and Matuyama chrons back to the termination of the Olduvai subchron. Several subchrons within the Matuyama period have been documented such as the Jaramillo, the Cobb Mt. and others. The Matuyama/Brunhes boundary, the Jaramillo, as well as the Cobb Mountain events were observed also at Donggutuo. On the basis of grain size and susceptibility data and of field investigations, the sections are divided into two longer lasting lacustrine episodes with a fluvio-lacustrine deposit in between. They are structured by 15 high-frequency deposition sub-cycles. In each cycle, the grain size fines upwards, while magnetic susceptibility decreases. This behavior is due to cyclic water level change of the ancient lake Nihewan. At Xiaodukou, the variations of the 0.2 to 7.5 μm grain size fraction can be correlated with the marine oxygen isotope stages OIS 64-OIS 11. The grey-green clayey to silty Paleolithic stone artifact layers at Xiaochangliang and Donggutuo are located at depths of 55.4 m and 43-38.7 m, respectively. They were buried when the lake-level was rising. The artifact layers have been deposited around the Cobb Mountain event during the sedimentary sub-cycle 6 of the older lacustrine phase corresponding to OIS 35, 36. Thus in contrast to the results of other studies, the estimated age of the Xiaochangliang stone artifact layer does not exceed 1.26 Ma, while the Donggutuo stone artifact layers date back to 1.21-1.15 Ma. This age determination brings the Nihewan hominids in close relation to the findings of Homo Erectus at Lantian on the Chinese Loess Plateau.     

碎石桩复合地基三维地震响应分析

将饱和砂土视为土水两相介质,以Biot动力固结方程为基础,编制了完全耦合的三维排水有效应力动力反应分析程序。利用该程序对碎石桩复合地基进行了动力反应分析。结果表明:在地震荷载作用下,碎石桩具有明显的减震效应,碎石桩复合地基表层的最大水平振动加速度与天然地基相比明显减小,并且碎石桩对地基的沉降变形有明显的抑制作用;碎石桩的排水效应十分显著,随着输入地震加速度的减弱,在孔压达到峰值以后,由下到上出现了明显的孔压消散现象,碎石桩排水效应的影响范围为上窄下宽的圆台形;碎石桩的加密效应显著;考虑碎石桩各效应的耦合作用比仅考虑其单一效应,计算得到的孔压比要小,因此在进行碎石桩复合地基抗液化判别时,应该综合考虑碎石桩各效应的相互耦合作用。     

石煤中钒元素在燃烧前后赋存状态变化的研究

石煤是一种可综合利用的矿产资源,提取石煤中钒、钼、镍等金属是其综合利用之一.石煤在发电燃烧过程中钒的物相发生显著变化,而钒物相的变化对钒的可浸出性产生较大的影响.笔者采用选择性连续提取方法对四川某地石煤原矿和石煤飞灰进行分析研究,发现石煤原矿中钒主要存在于硅铝酸盐相和有机质相中,部分存在于铁锰氧化物相及吸附态中,极少部分存在于碳酸盐相中.而石煤发电飞灰中钒主要存在于有机质相、硅铝酸盐相和铁锰氧化物相中,少量的钒以吸附态形式赋存.燃烧过程中石煤的各种含钒矿物发生离解,其中的钒得到释放并被氧化成高价态.高价钒一部分与Na、Cl等结合生成可溶性化合物,形成吸附态的钒;另一部分与Fe、Na、Ca等发生反应生成难溶性化合物,并以一定形式富集在飞灰的有机质相、硅铝酸盐相和铁锰氧化物相中.     

田黄的X射线衍射研究

用X射线衍射分析的方法测定了12个田黄样品,其中,青田石1个,寿山石9个,昌化田黄石2个。确定青田石由叶蜡石(58%)、绢云母(36.1%)和高岭石(5.9%)组成;昌化田黄石由迪开石组成;寿山石分别由迪开石、高岭石、叶蜡石及绢云母组成。     

寿山石的品种简介

福建省福州市产出的寿山石由田坑石、水坑石、掘性石(坡积石)和山坑石组成。经初步统计,有田坑石16种,水坑石12种,掘性石(坡积石)18种,山坑石118种,合计164种。它们分别主要由迪开石或珍珠石或高岭石或绢云母或叶蜡石组成。     

Consolidation and deformation around stone columns: Numerical evaluation of analytical solutions

Coupled finite element analyses of the consolidation and deformation around stone columns have been performed to assess the accuracy of different analytical solutions. The numerical model reproduces the hypotheses of the closed-form solutions. In the model, a rigid load is applied to a unit cell formed by a fully penetrating column and its surrounding soil, and simple elastic or elasto-plastic soil models are used. The surface settlement, the dissipation of the pore pressure and the vertical stress concentration on the column are studied. These soil responses are accurately estimated with closed-form solutions that properly include the radial and plastic strains in the column. However, the surrounding soil does not yield for usual conditions, which reasonably justifies the elastic soil behavior assumed in the analytical solutions. The differences between drained and consolidation analyses are also evaluated. Comparing the numerical results with the closed-form solutions illustrates the implications of the assumptions of each approach.     

A survey of trace element distribution in tissues of stone crabs (Menippe mercenaria) from South Carolina coastal waters

The stone crab (Menippe mercenaria) is an important component of the estuarine food web as both predator and prey. Stone crabs live in sediment, primarily consume oysters, and as a result, have the potential to accumulate significant quantities of pollutants including metals. In South Carolina, the stone crab is becoming a targeted fishery as an ecologically sustainable seafood choice. To date, no studies have reported metals in stone crab tissues. This study examined the distribution of major and minor trace elements in chelae and body muscle, gill, and hepatopancreas. Crabs were collected from three tidal areas within Charleston County, South Carolina, with differing upland use. Results were compared by collection location and by tissue type. Concentrations of some metals associated with anthropogenic activities were up to three times higher in crabs from sites adjacent to more urbanized areas. Concentrations in edible tissues were below historical FDA levels of concern.     

Non-plastic silty sand liquefaction,screening, and remediation

Assessing liquefaction potential, in situ screening using cone penetration resistance, and liquefaction-remediation of non-plastic silty soils are difficult problems. Presence of silt particles among the sand grains in silty soils alter the moduli, shear strength, and flow characteristics of silty soils compared to clean host sand at the same global void ratio. Cyclic resistance (CRR) and normalized cone penetration resistance (q_c1N) are each affected by silt content in a different way. Therefore, a unique correlation between cyclic resistance and cone resistance is not possible for sands and silty sands. Likewise, the response of silty soils subjected to traditional deep dynamic compaction (DC) and vibro-stone column (SC) densification techniques is influenced by the presence of silt particles, compared to the response in sand. Silty soils require drainage-modifications to make them amenable for dynamic densification techniques. The first part of this paper addresses the effects of silt content on cyclic resistance CRR, hydraulic conductivity k, and coefficient of consolidation C_v of silty soils compared to clean sand. The second part of the paper assesses the effectiveness of equivalent intergranular void ratio (e_c)_eq concept to approximately account for the effects of silt content on CRR. The third part of the paper explores the combined effects of silt content (viz effects of (e_c)_eq, k, and C_v) on q_c1N using laboratory model cone tests and preliminary numerical simulation experiments. A possible inter-relationship between q_c1N, CRR, accommodating the different degrees of influence of (e_c)_eq, k, and C_v on q_c1N and CRR, is discussed. The fourth part of the paper focuses on the detrimental effects of silt content on the effectiveness of DC and SC techniques to densify silty soils for liquefaction-mitigation. Finally, the effectiveness of supplemental wick drains to aid drainage and facilitate densification and liquefaction mitigation of silty sands using DC and SC techniques is discussed.     

Performance of geosynthetic-reinforced granular piles in soft clays: Model tests and numerical analysis

The laboratory model tests and numerical analyses have been performed on reinforced granular piles installed in very soft clay. The granular piles were reinforced with geosynthetic in the form of vertical encasement, horizontal strips and combined vertical-horizontal reinforcement. The short term-displacement control model tests were carried out either only a granular pile loaded or with an entire area loaded. The laboratory results in the form of vertical load intensity-settlement behaviour were compared with that obtained from FEM software, PLAXIS 3D. The results indicated significant improvement in ultimate load intensity and stiffness of treated ground due to inclusion of geosynthetic.