Nutrient dynamics and seasonal succession of phytoplankton assemblages in a Southern European Estuary: Ria de Aveiro, Portugal

The spatial and temporal dynamics of dissolved inorganic nitrogen, dissolved phosphate, dissolved silica and chlorophyll a were measured seasonally at eight stations in the Ria de Aveiro. Between December 2000 and September 2001, the seasonal succession of phytoplankton assemblages, inferred after the spatial and seasonal variation of silica and of chlorophyll a concentrations, showed that diatoms (μmol Si L⁻¹) dominated from late autumn until early spring, while chlorophytes (μg Chl a L⁻¹) bloomed during late spring and summer. The Si:N:P ratios and Si concentrations indicated no seasonal depletion in dissolved silica, as in other temperate systems, possibly because of abnormal precipitation and flood events prolonging the supply of dissolved Si to the system. The Si:N:P ratios suggested P limitation at the system level. Despite the relative proportions of available nutrients, the mean phosphorus concentration (5.3 μmol L⁻¹) was above the reported half-saturation constants for P uptake by phytoplankton. Thus, in Ria de Aveiro, the seasonal succession of phytoplankton assemblages may also be dependent on the grazing capacity of the pelagic community through top-down regulation.     

小波理论在遥感图像融合中应用

小波变换用于多源遥感图像融合已得到了国内外学者的广泛关注,并且又提出了很多小波变换与传统融合方法结合的融合算法。本文在对这些算法进行总结的基础上,讨论了基于小波包变换和最优树变换以及多进制小波变换在融合中的应用,分析他们在融合中各自的特色,以便使用时根据具体情况进行选择。     

CBERS-02B星HR与多光谱影像融合及评价

CBERS-02B星搭载了高分辨率全色相机HR和多光谱传感器CCD,HR影像可以与CCD影像融合,优势互补形成新的影像,既保持HR的高空间分辨率又保持CCD的光谱分辨率,HR影像同样可以与其它传感器影像融合形成新的影像。本文使用6种不同的融合方法融合HR与多光谱CCD以及SPOT5多光谱影像,并对融合结果进行了定性和定量评价,得到了HR与SPOT5多光谱影像融合较好的方法,表明了HR与其它传感器影像融合的潜力,同时也对HR和SPOT5多光谱融合影像及与CCD融合影像进行了初步的对比分析。     

Zircon M257 ‐ a Homogeneous Natural Reference Material for the Ion Microprobe U‐Pb Analysis of Zircon

We introduce and propose zircon M257 as a future reference material for the determination of zircon U‐Pb ages by means of secondary ion mass spectrometry. This light brownish, flawless, cut gemstone specimen from Sri Lanka weighed 5.14 g (25.7 carats). Zircon M257 has TIMS‐determined, mean isotopic ratios (2s uncertainties) of 0.09100 ± 0.00003 for ²⁰⁶pb/²³⁸U and 0.7392 ± 0.0003 for ²⁰⁷pb/²³⁵U. Its ²⁰⁶pb/²³⁸U age is 561.3 ± 0.3 Ma (unweighted mean, uncertainty quoted at the 95% confidence level); the U‐Pb system is concordant within uncertainty of decay constants. Zircon M257 contains ～ 840 μg g^?1 U (Th/U ～ 0.27). The material exhibits remarkably low heterogeneity, with a virtual absence of any internal textures even in cathodoluminescence images. The uniform, moderate degree of radiation damage (estimated from the expansion of unit‐cell parameters, broadening of Raman spectral parameters and density) corresponds well, within the “Sri Lankan trends”, with actinide concentrations, U‐Pb age, and the calculated alpha fluence of 1.66 × 10¹⁸ g^?1. This, and a (U+Th)/He age of 419 ± 9 Ma (2s), enables us to exclude any unusual thermal history or heat treatment, which could potentially have affected the retention of radiogenic Pb. The oxygen isotope ratio of this zircon is 13.9%o VSMOW suggesting a metamorphic genesis in a marble or calc‐silicate skarn.     

A spectrophotometric measurement of soil cation exchange capacity based on cobaltihexamine chloride absorbance

Among numerous methods for cation exchange capacity (CEC) determination for soils and sediments, the cobaltihexamine chloride method is frequently used due to its ability to measure CEC at soil pH. After exchange with Co(NH₃)₆³⁺ ions, CEC is estimated via the measurement of the Co remaining in solution. The modified method proposed allows a more rapid determination of CEC based on the measurement of the absorbance at 472 nm of the cobaltihexamine chloride solution before and after exchange. This method has been applied to various soil's horizons from four sites, selected to cover a wide range of CEC and pH values. The model obtained allows one to calculate CEC from absorbance at 472 nm with 95% confidence intervals. As CEC is of relevant meaning in agronomical and environmental purposes, and more recently in ecotoxicological studies, this modified method can be proposed as a rapid test for CEC evaluation.     

Diagenesis of vascular plant organic matter components during burial in lake sediments

Diagenetic changes are difficult to distinguish from variations in sources of organic matter to sediments. Organic geochemical comparisons of samples of wood, bark, and needles from a white spruce (Picea glauca) living today and one buried for 10,000 years in lake sediments have been used to identify the effects of diagenesis on vascular plant matter. Important biogeochemical changes are evident in the aged spruce components, even though the cellular structures of the samples are well preserved. Concentrations of total fatty acids dramatically diminish; unsaturated and shorter chainlength components are preferentially lost from the molecular distributions. Concentrations of total alcohols are similar in the modern and 10,000-year-old wood and bark but markedly lowered in the aged needles. Hydrocarbon concentrations and distributions show little diagenetic change in the 10,000-year-old plant materials. Cellulose components in the wood decrease relative to lignin components, although both types of materials remain in high concentration in comparison to other organic components. Aromatization of abietic acid proceeds more rapidly in buried spruce wood than in bark; retene is the dominant polyaromatic hydrocarbon in the aged wood. In contrast to the variety of changes evident in molecular compositions, neither ¹³C values nor C/N ratios differ significantly in the bulk organic matter of modern and aged spruce components.     

Comparison between a radiative wind model for be stars and high angular resolution data from the GI2T interferometer

I present theoretical line profiles and intensity maps from an axi-symmetric radiative wind model from a rapidly rotating Be star. The introduction of a viscosity parameter in the latitude-dependent hydrodynamic code enables us to consider the effects of the viscous force in the azimuthal component of momentum equations (Araújo et al. 1994). Both velocity field and density law derived from the hydrodynamic equations have been used for solving the statistical equilibrium equations. By adopting the Sobolev approximation, we could easily obtain a good estimate of both electronic density and hydrogen level populations throughout the envelope. The numerical calculation was performed for parameters characterisic of the Be star Cassiopeiae.     

Using numerical modelling to evaluate tsunami hazard near the Kuril Island

A sequence of computer experiments is used to study questions concerning the tsunami problem as a quantitative estimate of tsunami danger, detailed geographical tsunami classification, determination of the parameters of critical tsunami waves, and the conditions of their development. We call a wave critical, if its impact on the coast is most hazardous.Using the Middle Kuril Island as an example, we present the results of a computer experiment which includes determining the wavefields on the shelf and estimating the effects connected with the deep-water Bussol and Diana Straits.Numerical simulation of tsunami waves of different sources permits the assessment of the extent of tsunami danger in different areas of the coastal zone of Simushir Island, depending on the location of the focus zone and their geometry.The major singularities of the wavefield arise in the zones of the deep-water straits. The distribution of the amplification factors is determined by both the global parameters of the wavefields and the local properties of individual harbours. The results obtained for a particular harbour in the northern part of Simushir Island, formed the basis for the quantitative estimate of tsunami danger for this area.     

Mais comment s'écoule donc un glacier ? Aperçu historique

Ice and snow have often helped physicists understand the world. On the contrary it has taken them a very long time to understand the flow of the glaciers. Naturalists only began to take an interest in glaciers at the beginning of the 19th century during the last phase of glacier advances. When the glacier flow from the upslope direction became obvious, it was then necessary to understand how it flowed. It was only in 1840, the year of the Antarctica ice sheet discovery by Dumont d'Urville, that two books laid the basis for the future field of glaciology: one by Agassiz on the ice age and glaciers, the other one by canon Rendu on glacier theory. During the 19th century, ice flow theories, adopted by most of the leading scientists, were based on melting/refreezing processes. Even though the word ‘fluid’ was first used in 1773 to describe ice, more the 130 years would have to go by before the laws of fluid mechanics were applied to ice. Even now, the parameter of Glen's law, which is used by glaciologists to model ice deformation, can take a very wide range of values, so that no unique ice flow law has yet been defined. To cite this article: F. Rémy, L. Testut, C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).     

Water temperature behaviour in the River Loire since 1976 and 1881

Analysis of monthly mean river temperatures, recorded on an hourly basis in the middle reaches of the Loire since 1976, allows reconstruction by multiple linear regression of the annual, spring and summer water temperatures from equivalent information on air temperatures and river discharge. Since 1881, the average annual and summer temperatures of the Loire have risen by approximately 0.8?°C, this increase accelerating since the late 1980s due to the rise in air temperature and also to lower discharge rates. In addition, the thermal regime in the Orleans to Blois reach is considerably affected by the inflow of groundwater from the Calcaires de Beauce aquifer, as shown by the summer energy balance. To cite this article: F. Moatar, J. Gailhard, C. R. Geoscience 338 (2006).