Rainfall intensity affects runoff responses in a semi-arid catchment

The source and hydrochemical makeup of a stream reflects the connectivity between rainfall, groundwater, the stream, and is reflected to water quantity and quality of the catchment. However, in a semi-arid, thick, loess covered catchment, temporal variation of stream source and event associated behaviours are lesser known. Thus, the isotopic and chemical hydrographs in a widely distributed, deep loess, semi-arid catchment of the northern Chinese Loess Plateau were characterized to determine the source and hydrochemical behaviours of the stream during intra-rainfall events. Rainfall and streamflow were sampled during six hydrologic events coupled with measurements of stream baseflow and groundwater. The deuterium isotope (²H), major ions (Cl⁻, SO₄²⁻, NO₃⁻, Ca²⁺, K⁺, Mg²⁺, and Na⁺) were evaluated in water samples obtained during rainfall events. Temporal variation of ²H and Cl⁻ measured in the groundwater and stream baseflow prior to rainfall was similar; however, the isotope compositions of the streamflow fluctuated significantly and responded quickly to rainfall events, likely due to an infiltration excess, overland dominated surface runoff during torrential rainfall events. Time source separation using ²H demonstrated greater than 72% on average, the stream composition was event water during torrential rainfall events, with the proportion increasing with rainfall intensity. Solutes concentrations in the stream had loglinear relationships with stream discharge, with an outling anomaly with an example of an intra-rainfall event on Oct. 24, 2015. Stream Cl⁻ behaved nonconservative during rainfall events, temporal variation of Cl⁻ indicated a flush and washout at the onset of small rainfall events, a dilution but still high concentration pattern in high discharge and old water dominated in regression flow period. This study indicates rainfall intensity affects runoff responses in a semi-arid catchment, and the stored water in the thick, loess covered areas was less connected with stream runoff. Solute transport may threaten water quality in the area, requiring further analysis of the performance of the eco-restoration project.     

Fast genetic mapping in barley: case studies of cuticle mutants using RNA-sequencing

Barley(Hordeum vulgare L.) is one of the earliest domesticated crop species and ranked as the fourth largest cereal production worldwide. Forward genetic studies in barley have greatly advanced plant genetics during the last century; however, most genes are identified by the conventional mapping method. Array genotyping and exome-capture sequencing have also been successfully used to target the causal mutation in barley populations, but these techniques are not widely adopted because of associated costs and partly due to the huge genome size of barley. This review summarizes three mapping cases of barley cuticle mutants in our laboratory with the help of RNA-sequencing. The causal mutations have been successfully identified for two of them and the target genes are located in the pericentromeric regions. Detailed information on the mapping-by-sequencing, mapping-and-sequencing, and RNA-sequencing assisted linkage mapping are presented and some limitations and challenges on the mapping assisted by RNA sequencing are also discussed. The alternative and elegant methods presented in this review may greatly accelerate forward genetics of barley mapping, especially for laboratories without large funding.     

Discovery of 13 New Variable Stars in the Field of the Open Cluster NGC 2168 （M35）

A wide-field time-series CCD photometric survey of variable stars in the field of the open cluster NGC 2168 was carried out using the BATC Schmidt telescope. In total 13 new variable stars are discovered with three W UMa systems, one EA type and two EB type eclipsing binaries (one of them could be a W UMa system), and seven pulsating stars including three candidates of δScuti stars.     

Bacterial productivity in the Prydz Bay and its adjacent waters,Antarctic

1　IntroductionBacteriaandtheiractivitiesplayanimportantroleintheelementalbiogeochemicalcyclesandenergytransformingintheocean (Zhenetal.1 997) .DortchandPackard(1 989) proposedthatfoodwebsintheeutrophicwatersaredominatedbythebiomassofprimaryproducerswhilefoodwebsintheoligotrophicwatersaredominatedbythebiomassofmicrobes.Heterotrophicbacteriahadbeenshowntoplayanimportantroleinthedecompositionoflarge ,rapidlysinkingorganicparticleswithinandbelowtheeuphot iczone ,andfurthertoaffecttheelementaldyn…     

Cytoplasmic regionalization in starfish oocyte occurrence and localization of cytoplasmic determinants responsible for the formation of archenteron and primary mesenchyme in starfish (asterias amurensis) oocytes

Starfish oocytes with intact germinal vesicles (GVs) were cut along desired planes with glass needles or ligated using silk thread loops into two parts and allowed to mature in vitro, and inseminated. The experimental results showed that (1) only the parts with GVs or partial GV contents (PGVCs) cleaved, those without any GV materials did not; but nucleated and non-nucleated fragments cut from mature eggs were able to divide; (2) the development of animal parts of oocytes containing GVs or PGVCs was like that of animal fragments of matured oocytes with female pronuclei; most of them gave rise to permanent blastulae, and just a few formed ectodermal vesicles with a little primary mesenchyme; (3) a large part of vegetal fragments with GVs or PGVCs, and the vegetal parts of mature eggs without female pronuclei developed into small but normal embryos; (4) the fragments containing GVs or PGVCs obtained from the oocytes along a plane parallel to the animal-vegetal (A-V) axis developed as normally as the halves (with or without female pronuclei) severed from mature eggs along the same axis. Based on the data above, it was concluded that (1) the non-chromatin materials in the oocyte GVs are indispensable for successful fertilization and cleavage of starfish eggs; (2) some factor (s) located asymmetrically in the vegetal hemispheres of starfish oocytes is (are) responsible for formation of the archenteron and primary mesenchyme. It is evident from the above findings that the oocyte cytoplasm of the starfish had already regionalized before the GV break-down. Contribution No. 1722 from the Institute of Oceanology, Academia Sinica     

Evolution of Electric Currents Associated with Two M-Class Flares

Using one-minute cadence vector magnetograms from Big Bear Solar Observatory (BBSO), we analyze the temporal behavior of derived longitudinal electric currents associated with two flares on July 26, 2002. One of the events is an M1.0 flare which occurred in active region NOAA 10044, while the other is an M8.7 flare in the adjacent region 10039. Rapid changes of magnetic fields in the form of flux emergence are found to be associated with both of these events. However, the temporal behavior of electric currents are very different. For the M1.0 flare, the longitudinal electric current density drops rapidly near the flaring neutral line; while for the M8.7 flare, the current density rapidly increases, confirming the picture of the current-carrying flux emergence. We offer a possible explanation for such a difference: magnetic reconnection at different heights for the two events, near the photosphere for the M1.0 flare, and higher up for the M8.7 flare.     

The formation and stability of the configuration of the planetary system HD 126611

Recent Doppler velocity measurements have revealed the existence of two planets orbiting the star HD 12661 on medium-eccentricity orbits. The inner planet has a period of 263.6 d and a mass of 2.3 Jupiter masses, and the outer planet has a period of 1444.5d and a mass of 1.57 Jupiter masses. The stability of this system requires the two planets to be in a state of mean-motion orbit resonances. By numerical method we have studied the orbit migration and stability of the system in its early ages under the action of the proto-stellar disk, and calculated the probabilities of the planets being captured into the mean -motion resonances during their migrations. It is found that at present the two planets are probably situated at the edge of the 11:2 mean-motion resonance and are in chaotic motions. This result may be helpful to clarify the arguments on the present configuration. Besides, it is indicated that very probably, after the formation of the system, the gaseous disk has almost disappeared before the planets migrated to the present configuration.     

GPS/LEO掩星观测的变分同化技术

在简单介绍GPS/LEO掩星探测大气的发展历史和科学意义之后,详细阐述了反演的基本原理;分析了标准反演中存在的问题,并说明一维变分同化(1DVAR)在反演方法中的重要性;给出了一维变分同化中价值函数的求解,以及各种同化因子;简单介绍了对当前气象学中普遍使用的四维变分同化(4DVAR);重点讨论了各种同化方法,以及使用各种同化因子的优缺点。最后,通过CHAMP卫星的观测实例分析,验证了GPS数据在数值天气预报(NWP)中的作用,以及相对于标准反演法一维变分对气象要素的改进。     

Observational evidence for solar coronal decimetric radio pulsations with very short periods

Using the decimetric (700–1500 MHz) radio spectrometer and the synchronous observational system with high temporal resolution at four frequencies (1420, 2130, 2840 and 4260 MHz) of Yunnan Observatory, two rare events were observed on 2001 June 24 and 1990 July 30. The former was a small radio burst exhibiting pulsations with short periods (about 29, 40 and 100 ms) in the impulsive phase. The latter was a large radio burst, which at 2840 MHz produced radio pulsations with period of about 30 ms. This paper focuses on pulsations with very short periods in the range of 29–40 ms. The mechanism of generation of such pulsations may be modulation of radio radiation by the periodic trains of whistler packets originating in unstable regions of the corona. Alternatively, these pulsations can be attributed to wave-wave non-linear interactions of electrostatic upper hybrid waves driven by beams of precipitating electrons in flaring loops.     

浙西北江山─绍兴断裂带构造演化特征

江山—绍兴断裂带是中国南方最重要的构造带之一。它是江南陆块与华夏陆块神功运动形成的碰撞拼贴带。它表现出明显的多期变形、构造叠加的特征：神功运动形成近东西向平卧褶皱；印支运动沿断裂带有向北西强烈的推覆挤压。断裂带不同时期的活动反映了不同特征的构造环境，形成不同的构造变形特征，并对两侧的地质历史具有明显的控制作用。