Modelling growth and reproduction of the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas: Advances in the oyster-DEB model through application to a coastal pond

A bio-energetic model, based on the DEB theory exists for the Pacific oyster Crassostrea gigas. Pouvreau et al. [Pouvreau, S., Bourles, Y., Lefebvre, S., Gangnery, A., Alunno-Bruscia, M., 2006. Application of a dynamic energy budget model to the Pacific oyster, C. gigas, reared under various environmental conditions. J. Sea Res. 56, 156–167.] successfully applied this model to oysters reared in three environments with no tide and low turbidity, using chlorophyll a concentration as food quantifier. However, the robustness of the oyster-DEB model needs to be validated in varying environments where different food quantifiers reflect the food available for oysters, as is the case in estuaries and most coastal ecosystems. We therefore tested the oyster-DEB model on C. gigas reared in an Atlantic coastal pond from January 2006 to January 2007. The model relies on two forcing variables: seawater temperature and food density monitored through various food quantifiers. Based on the high temperature range measured in this oyster pond (3–30 °C), new boundary values of the temperature tolerance range were estimated both for ingestion and respiration rates. Several food quantifiers were then tested to select the most suitable for explaining the observed growth and reproduction of C. gigas reared in an oyster pond. These were: particulate organic matter and carbon, chlorophyll a concentration and phytoplankton enumeration (expressed in cell number per litre or in cumulative cell biovolume). We conclude that when phytoplankton enumeration was used as food quantifier, the new version of oyster-DEB model presented here reproduced the growth and reproduction of C. gigas very accurately. The next step will be to validate the model under contrasting coastal environmental conditions so as to confirm the accuracy of phytoplankton enumeration as a way of representing the available food that sustains oyster growth.     

贵州2008年与2022年年初低温雨雪冻雨天气过程对比分析

利用常规气象观测资料以及NCEP再分析资料,通过对实况资料、环流背景、气候背景的研究,对2008年和2022年年初贵州省低温雨雪冻雨天气过程进行对比分析。结果表明：2022年冷空气强度与2008年相比偏弱,最低气温比2008年偏高2.7 ℃;日平均降雪站数接近2008年略偏少,达到了2008年的91%;日平均冻雨站数与2008年相比明显偏少,仅达到2008年的29%,2022年最大雪深超过了2008年。两次低温雨雪天气的成因共同点是：拉尼娜事件的影响;副高、欧亚阻高异常偏强以及中亚、西亚低值系统活跃,持续大量暖湿空气向北输送水汽;不同点是：2022年鄂霍次克海低涡强度偏弱。在两次低温雨雪持续期间,副高异常增强、北抬,欧亚阻高形势稳固,北极明显升温,持续的水汽输送和逆温存在,为这两次雨雪冰冻灾害提供重要的环流背景。     

An application of artificial intelligence for investigating the effect of COVID-19 lockdown on three-dimensional temperature variation in equatorial Africa

We present interesting application of artificial intelligence for investigating effect of the COVID-19 lockdown on 3-dimensional temperature variation across Nigeria (2°–15° E, 4°–14° N), in equatorial Africa. Artificial neural networks were trained to learn time-series temperature variation patterns using radio occultation measurements of atmospheric temperature from the Constellation Observing System for Meteorology, Ionosphere, and Climate (COSMIC). Data used for training, validation and testing of the neural networks covered period prior to the lockdown. There was also an investigation into the viability of solar activity indicator (represented by the sunspot number) as an input for the process. The results indicated that including the sunspot number as an input for the training did not improve the network prediction accuracy. The trained network was then used to predict values for the lockdown period. Since the network was trained using pre-lockdown dataset, predictions from the network are regarded as expected temperatures, should there have been no lockdown. By comparing with the actual COSMIC measurements during the lockdown period, effects of the lockdown on atmospheric temperatures were deduced. In overall, the mean altitudinal temperatures rose by about 1.1 °C above expected values during the lockdown. An altitudinal breakdown, at 1 km resolution, reveals that the values were typically below 0.5 °C at most of the altitudes, but exceeded 1 °C at 28 and 29 km altitudes. The temperatures were also observed to drop below expected values at altitudes of 0–2 km, and 17–20 km.     

Temperature and emissivity separation and mineral mapping based on airborne TASI hyperspectral thermal infrared data

Thermal infrared remote sensing (8–12 μm) (TIR) has great potential for geologic remote sensing studies. TIR has been successfully used for terrestrial and planetary geologic studies to map surface materials. However, the complexity of the physics and the lack of hyperspectral data make the studies under-investigated. A new generation of commercial hyperspectral infrared sensors, known as Thermal Airborne Spectrographic Imager (TASI), was used for image analysis and mineral mapping in this study. In this paper, a combined method integrating normalized emissivity method (NEM), ratio algorithm (RATIO) and maximum–minimum apparent emissivity difference (MMD), being applied in multispectral data, has been modified and used to determine whether this method is suitable for retrieving emissivity from TASI hyperspectral data. MODTRAN 4 has been used for the atmospheric correction. The retrieved emissivity spectra matched well with the field measured spectra except for bands 1, 2, and 32. Quartz, calcite, diopside/hedenbergite, hornblende and microcline have been mapped by the emissivity image. Mineral mapping results agree with the dominant minerals identified by laboratory X-ray powder diffraction and spectroscopic analyses of field samples. Both of the results indicated that the atmospheric correction method and the combined temperature–emissivitiy method are suitable for TASI image. Carbonate skarnization was first found in the study area by the spatial extent of diopside. Chemical analyses of the skarn samples determined that the Au content was 0.32–1.74 g/t, with an average Au content of 0.73 g/t. This information provides an important resource for prospecting for skarn type gold deposits. It is also suggested that TASI is suitable for prospect and deposit scale exploration.     

Hydrographic variability on a coastal shelf directly influenced by estuarine outflow

Hydrographic variability on the Alabama shelf just outside of Mobile Bay, a major source of river discharge into the Gulf of Mexico, is examined using time series of water column temperature and surface and bottom salinity from a mooring site with a depth of 20 m in conjunction with a series of across-shelf CTD surveys. The time series data show variability in a range of time scales. The density variation is affected by both salinity and temperature, with its relatively strong annual signal mostly determined by temperature and its year to year variability mostly determined by salinity. Seasonal mean structures of temperature, salinity, and density show a transition from estuarine to shelf conditions in which three regions with distinct seasonal characteristics in their horizontal and vertical gradient structures are identified. Correlation analysis with the available forcing functions demonstrates the influence of Mobile Bay on the variability at the mooring site. At low frequencies, river discharge from Mobile Bay has a varying influence on salinity, which is absent during the periods with unusually low discharge. At shorter synoptic time scales, both the estuarine response to the across-shelf wind stress and the shelf response to the along-shelf wind stress are significantly correlated with temperature/salinity variability: the former becoming important for the surface layer during winter whereas the latter for the bottom layer during both winter and summer. These forcing functions are important players in determining the estuarine-shelf exchange, which in turn is found to contribute to the shelf hydrographic structure.     

Response Surface Analysis and Statistical Modeling of Sulfide Generation from Municipal Wastewater

In this study, the interactive effects of four independent variables (initial chemical oxygen demand (COD) concentration, rotational velocity, temperature, and retention time) on the sulfide generation process in municipal wastewater were investigated. The process was modeled and analyzed with the variables in a series batch experiments. Experiments were conducted based on a central composite face‐centered design and analyzed using response surface methodology. The region of exploration for the process was taken as the area enclosed by COD (250 and 650 mg/L), rotational velocity (40 and 200 rpm), temperature (16 and 28°C), and retention time (2 and 40 h) boundaries. Eleven dependent parameters were either directly measured or calculated as response. The most influential variable on H₂S (g) production was found to be retention time. The results showed that simultaneous increase in temperature and rotational velocity caused an increasing trend in the amount of H₂S (g) emitted. Total sulfide was decreased by increasing rotational velocity due to more H₂S (g) secretion resulting from increased mixing rate. The present study provides valuable information about interrelations of quality and process parameters at different values of the studied variables.     

近10年东亚沙尘气溶胶辐射强迫与温度响应

利用一个耦合了在线沙尘模型的区域气候模式RegCM3,对2000-2009年东亚沙尘气溶胶辐射强迫及温度响应进行了数值模拟。结果表明：（1）东亚沙尘气溶胶分布具有明显的地理差异和季节差异,柱含量高值区主要位于塔克拉玛干沙漠和巴丹吉林沙漠,最大值均在1 000mg.m-2以上;从季节分布来看,春季最大,冬季次之,秋季最小...     

Effects of alumina refinery wastewater and signature metal constituents at the upper thermal tolerance of: 2. The early life stages of the coral Acropora tenuis

The success of early life history transitions of the coral Acropora tenuis were used as endpoints to evaluate thermal stress and the effects of wastewater discharged to a tropical marine environment. The studies assessed the effects of: (i) temperature; (ii) three signature metals of the wastewater, aluminium (Al), vanadium (V) and gallium (Ga); and (iii) the wastewater (at 27 °C and 32 °C) on fertilisation and larval metamorphosis. The median inhibition temperatures for fertilisation and metamorphosis were 32.8 °C and 33.0 °C, respectively. Fertilisation IC₅₀s for Al, V and Ga were 2997, 2884 and 3430 μg L⁻¹, respectively. Metamorphosis IC₅₀s for Al, V and Ga were 1945, 675 and 3566 μg L⁻¹, respectively. The wastewater only affected fertilisation and metamorphosis at moderate concentrations (IC₅₀s = 63% and 67%, v/v, respectively, at 27 °C), posing a low risk to this species in the field. The effects of wastewater and temperature on fertilisation and metamorphosis were additive.     

Differential kinetics and temperature dependence of abiotic and biotic processes controlling the environmental fate of TNT in simulated marine systems

This work seeks to understand how the balance of abiotic and biotic kinetic processes in sediments control the residual concentration of TNT in marine systems after release from ocean-dumped source. Kinetics of TNT disappearance were followed using marine sediments at different temperatures and under both biotic and presumably abiotic conditions (through sodium azide addition). Sediments exhibiting the highest rate of TNT disappearance under biotic conditions also exhibited the highest sorption affinity for TNT under abiotic conditions. Significant temperature dependence in the abiotic processes was observed in the diffusion coefficient of TNT and not sediment sorption affinity. At higher temperature, kinetics of biotic processes outpaced abiotic processes, but at low temperature, kinetics of abiotic processes were much more significant. We concluded that the differential influence of temperature on the kinetics of abiotic and biotic processes could provide distinguishing predictions for the potential residual concentration of TNT contamination in marine-sediment systems.     

应用卫星、雷达资料的强对流天气预报预警系统

利用2005—2008年3—9月亮温（TBB）资料,采用逐步判别分析法建立强对流天气预报方程,判别监测区域内某一云团未来可能产生区域性强对流天气、局地性强对流天气、无强对流天气;同时采用指标叠加法判定某云团有无强对流天气。在统计福建省多年冰雹、雷雨大风的雷达回波参数的基础上,确定大冰雹、冰雹、雷雨大风强对流天气的雷达参数（强度、风暴顶高度、垂直液态水含量、回波顶高等）阈值,并根据当天的0℃、-20℃高度与风暴顶的高度差,将CINRAD雷达产品中输出的风暴逐个进行筛选,对系统判定可能出现大冰雹、冰雹、雷雨大风的强风暴输出其未来1h内将影响区域信息。