Long-term recovery of a Louisiana brackish marsh plant community from oil-spill impact: vegetation response and mitigating effects of marsh surface elevation

Oil spills can have significant, short-term, negative impacts on coastal marshes, but the long-term effects and eventual recovery are not well documented, particularly in brackish marshes. The goals of this investigation were to: (1) document the long-term recovery of a Louisiana brackish marsh plant community impacted by a 1985 oil spill; (2) separate the effect of the oil spill on marsh deterioration from ambient rates of marsh deterioration; and (3) assess the relative importance of residual oil in the sediment and decreased marsh surface elevation in the failure of certain areas to recover. A total of 68 permanent plots previously established in 1985 were re-surveyed for plant and soil recovery in the fall of 1989. Although substantial (and near total) vegetative recovery was evident by significant increases in live and total vegetative cover, many of the plots that were initially heavily impacted by oil still displayed elevated levels of total saturated hydrocarbons in the soil. August 1990 measurements of plant photosynthetic response and edaphic variables revealed no significant differences between control plots and plots heavily impacted by oil that displayed vegetative regrowth. Rates of wetland land loss in the oiled marsh during an 8-year period that bracketed the time of the spill were within the historical range measured for this site and similar to the land loss rates of adjacent reference marshes. Results from a manipulative field transplant experiment indicated that the long-term failure of certain small areas to revegetate was primarily due to a decrease of marsh surface elevation (increased flooding stress), not a residual oil effect.     

1993年日本海地震的异常破裂过程

１９９３年日本海地震的异常破裂过程１９９３年７月１２日，一次大震和由它产生的海啸，给日本、朝鲜和俄罗斯三国的日本海沿岸地区造成了严重破坏，尤其是北海道西南海岸和奥夙岛更为严重。对这次地震的各个方面无疑将进行非常详细的研究。本文集中论述构造环境和在对地...     

大地震远程触发小地震的首次证据

就在去年6月28日破晓以前,位于洛杉矶以东200km的莫哈维沙漠发生了7.3级地震。这次地震以距震中最近的小城的名字命名为兰德斯地震。该地震虽然比三年前旧金山发生的地震强烈,但由于这一地区人口稀少,没有引起人们太大的注意。但是,这次地震却对地震学史有贡献。80年代期间,在美国极西部地区建立的高密度、分布广的地震台网提供了令人信服的证据:兰德斯地震引发了一系列的继发性地震。最远的在其东北1250km处的黄石国家公园。     

The dose-response relationship between No. 2 fuel oil and the growth of the salt marsh grass,Spartina alterniflora

The effect of No. 2 fuel oil on the biomass production of the salt marsh plant, Spartina alterniflora, was studied in a greenhouse dose-response experiment. S. alterniflora were transplanted into soil with 10 dosage levels of No. 2 fuel oil ranging from 0 to 456 mg g(-1) dry soil. Three months after transplantation, values for plant biomass, stem density, and shoot height decreased significantly with increasing fuel oil level in a dose-response fashion. Evapo-transpiration rates were correlated with the total biomass response. Relative to the control, a significant decrease in total (above- plus below-ground) plant biomass was observed at concentrations above 57 mg g(-1) dry soil. Within the 3-month experimental period, detrimental effects on below-ground biomass accumulation and bioluminescence of the marine bacterium Viberio fisheri in the Microtox Solid Phase Test were observed at oil concentrations >29 mg g(-1) dry soil, suggesting that biological effects of oil within the sediment matrix may be more pronounced than on above-ground biomass, requiring a dosage 228 mg g(-1) dry soil to elicit a significant detrimental effect. Hence, measurements of oil effects with biological end-points based solely on above-ground responses may underestimate the potential impacts of petroleum hydrocarbon spills, especially when the oil has penetrated the soil. While S. alterniflora was proved to be relatively tolerant to the No. 2 fuel oil spills, its effectiveness in phytoremediation operations may be limited at fuel oil levels 228 mg g(-1) dry soil, as both plant growth and microbial activity may be constrained.