Semidiurnal Dynamics of Salinity, Nutrients and Suspended Particulate Matter in an Estuary in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, during a Spring Tide Cycle

The physical and chemical variability of the water column at subtidal station of an estuary in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, was studied over a 24-hour period during a spring tide (tidal range ca. 2 m) in May 1995. Surface water and several depths through the water column were monitored every one and two hours, respectively. At each occasion, water temperature, salinity and dissolved oxygen concentration were measured and water samples were collected for the determination of nutrients and suspended particulate matter (SPM). Disruptive changes in the physical and chemical characteristics of the water was produced by the tidal cycle and the mixing of water masses of different origin. These changes were highly significant both spatially and temporally, yet with varying effects on physical parameters, nutrients and the different components of SPM. Significant differences in nutrient concentrations were also observed when the data-set was divided into ebb and flood components, irrespective of the depth. Nitrate and nitrite rose to 1.8 times higher during the flood. Spatial differences of SPM were less marked than those of nutrients, only particulate organic carbon (POC) being significantly higher at the surface than in the intermediate and the lower layer. Both POC and pheopigment concentrations increased markedly through the water column, being highest shortly before the lower low tide. In contrast, suspended solid (SS) content increased sharply after the lower low tide (>40 mg l⁻¹) and this coincided with a marked decrease of the C/SS content (<20 mg g⁻¹). The lagtime between POC and SS tidal transport was caused by particle resuspension from the exposed intertidal sediments as the tidal level rose, and particle transport selection in relation to the tidal state. This revised version was published online in August 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Neuzeitlicher Schadstofftrend: Polycylische aromatische Kohlenwasserstoffe (PAK) in aquatischen und terrestrischen Sedimenten

A Recent Contamination Trend: Polycylic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAHs) in Aquatic and Terrestrial Sediments Concentrations of polycylic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) measured in aquatic sediments of small, medium‐sized or very large inland lakes, of estuaries as well as in terrestrial sediments from Germany, the UK, Finland, and the USA were plotted in 10 trend curves over the period from 1800 to 1990. The segments of the bore cores were dated for their deposition age. For comparability of the results, the trend is preferentially shown by the guide parameter fluoranthene. Until the 19th century, a constant background value of C_Fluo = 10…50 μg/kg was observed in all regions. Then a steep increase in concentration followed, reaching in the aquatic sediments a maximum in the period 1940 to 1965, while the individual fluoranthene values ranged widely from 90 to 2400 μg/kg. In several regions, a more or less distinct decrease superseded this maximum, although this development did not appear in terrestrial sediments, in one estuary, and in remote forest lakes in Finland. The trend curves reflect the atmospheric deposition of PAHs in airborne dust and in some cases the import through runoff via rivers. Thus, the sediment profiles depict the development of air pollution by pyrogenic contaminants over more than a century. Sediment profiles from rivers can be used only with a high degree of reservation, because of the irregularity and low representativity of the sedimentation.     

Causes of Land Subsidence in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

The occurrence of land subsidence in the Kingdom Saudi Arabia is either natural or man-made. Natural land subsidence occurs due to the development of subterranean voids by a solution of host rocks in carbonate and evaporite terrains, over many areas of Saudi Arabia. Man-induced land subsidence is either due to the removal of groundwater in the agricultural areas or to wetting of unstable soils. Therefore, earth fissures and a lowering of the ground surface in unconsolidated sediments took place in alluvial plains and volcanic vent terrains. Unstable soils include Sabkha soils and loess sediments. These types of soils occur in coastal plains, desert areas and volcanic terrains. When this soil is wetted either during agricultural activities, waste disposal or even during a rain storm, subsidence takes place due to either the removal of salts from the Sabkha soil or the rearrangement of soil particles in loess sediments.     

Re-parameterization of a quasi-analytical algorithm for colored dissolved organic matter dominant inland waters

Quasi-Analytical Algorithms (QAAs) are based on radiative transfer equations and have been used to derive inherent optical properties (IOPs) from the above surface remote sensing reflectance (R_rs) in aquatic systems in which phytoplankton is the dominant optically active constituents (OACs). However, Colored Dissolved Organic Matter (CDOM) and Non Algal Particles (NAP) can also be dominant OACs in water bodies and till now a QAA has not been parametrized for these aquatic systems. In this study, we compared the performance of three widely used QAAs in two CDOM dominated aquatic systems which were unsuccessful in retrieving the spectral shape of IOPS and produced minimum errors of 350% for the total absorption coefficient (a), 39% for colored dissolved matter absorption coefficient (a_CDM) and 7566.33% for phytoplankton absorption coefficient (a_phy). We re-parameterized a QAA for CDOM dominated (hereafter QAA_CDOM) waters which was able to not only achieve the spectral shape of the OACs absorption coefficients but also brought the error magnitude to a reasonable level. The average errors found for the 400–750 nm range were 30.71 and 14.51 for a, 14.89 and 8.95 for a_CDM and 25.90 and 29.76 for a_phy in Funil and Itumbiara Reservoirs, Brazil respectively. Although QAA_CDOM showed significant promise for retrieving IOPs in CDOM dominated waters, results indicated further tuning is needed in the estimation of a(λ) and a_phy(λ). Successful retrieval of the absorption coefficients by QAA_CDOM would be very useful in monitoring the spatio-temporal variability of IOPS in CDOM dominated waters.     

Distribution of ciliates in relation to environmental factors along the coastline of the Gulf of Gabes, Tunisia

We studied the seasonal distribution of the ciliate community coupled with environmental factors along the coast at three stations sampled (from March 2006 to February 2007) in the Gulf of Gabes (Tunisia, Eastern Mediterranean Sea). A total of 56 species belonging to 11 orders, were identified. Harbor of Gabes station was more diversified (45 species) than both Tabia (26 species) and Karboub (31 species) stations. The ciliate assemblage was numerically dominated by Spirotrichea in Tabia (82% of the total abundance), in the Harbor of Gabes (86% of the total abundance), whereas, in Karboub, Spirotrichea represented only 40% of the total abundance. The unexpected lower quantitative importance of Spirotrichea in Karboub station was apparently the result of the high salt concentration found in water samples throughout the study, probably originating from the saline area surrounding Karboub station, known as Sabkha. The distribution of species in the nearshore of the Gulf of Gabes seemed most likely influenced by the combined effects of temperature, salinity and hydrographic conditions.     

甘肃景泰地区内陆叠合型盆地成因地层格架

在详细研究组成内陆叠合型盆地的各个单型盆地的沉积体系三维构成的基础上 ,采用动态成因地层和层序地层分析方法 ,恢复了叠合型内陆盆地的成因地层格架 ,并根据各类等时地层界面的构型 ,将盆地地层序列划分为 7个沉积幕、3个构造沉积幕。进而分析了内陆盆地在同生裂陷和衰减坳陷等不同阶段的充填过程。     

漂浮通量箱法和扩散模型法测定内陆水体CH_4和N_2O排放通量的初步比较研究

采用漂浮通量箱法和扩散模型法同步地观测了模拟内陆水体在不同条件下的CH4和N2O的水-气交换通量,旨在比较两类方法取得结果的异同。结果显示:这两类方法所测得的绝大多数CH4排放通量都与水中溶解氧呈显著线性负相关(显著性系数P0.001)。同时N2O排放通量与表层水温及水中铵态氮、硝态氮、溶解碳和溶解氧的关系可用包含所有上述水环境因素的Arrhenius动力学方程来表达,这些因素可以共同解释86%~90%的N2O通量变化(P0.0001),且不同方法测定的N2O通量的表观活化能和对表层水温的敏感系数分别介于47~59 kJ mol-1和1.92~2.27之间;扩散模型法所获得的CH4和N2O通量分别是箱法测定值的13%~175%和15%~240%,差异程度因模型而异;不同模型取得通量间相差20%~1200%,平均相差2.3倍。上述结果表明:仅用一种模型方法来取得CH4或N2O排放通量易形成较大偏差;不同扩散模型法和箱法测定的通量在反映CH4和N2O排放的内在规律方面具有一致性,但它们对真实气体通量的测量是否都存在不同程度的系统误差,尚需进一步研究。     

Microbial signatures in sabkha evaporite deposits of Chott el Gharsa (Tunisia) and their astrobiological implications

This study investigates the geomicrobiological potential of Upper Pleistocene evaporite deposits of the Chott el Gharsa, a wide continental sabkha in southern Tunisia. Organic and inorganic-derived biosignatures are mostly contained in microcrystalline, laminated gypsum lithofacies consisting of light/dark alternations of concordant laminae, which have precipitated from high salt concentrated waters. These biosignatures include mineralized microbial-interpreted morphologies, such as mucilage, rods, and microfibers, and dumbbell morphologies in the hollow cores of dolomite crystals that are associated with sulfates. Mineral products that are induced by microbial activity and their organic compounds lead to the formation of lenticular-shaped gypsum crystals, with a high length/width ratio, dolomite precipitation and formation of pyrite framboids. Morphological and structural aspects of these biosignatures, and their composition, in laminated, dolomite-rich sulfate deposits could be detected through microscopic investigations and micro-analyses performed by the instrumentation that is planned for ongoing Mars sample return missions.     

GPS-derived horizontal ice flow velocities along the traverse route from Zhongshan Station to Dome-A, East Antarctica

1　IntroductionFromitsoriginalformulationin 1 990 ,theInternationalTrans AntarcticScientificExpedition (ITASE)hashadasitsprimaryaimthecollectionandinterpretationofacon tinental widearrayofenvironmentalparametersassembledthroughthecoordinatedeffortsofscientistsfromseveralnations(Mayewskietal.1 996) .AsaconsequenceITASEhasbeenfocusedtoaddresstwokeyscientificobjectives:1 )Todeterminethespatialvariabil ityofAntarcticclimate (eg.accumulation,airtemperature,atmosphericcirculation)overthelast2…     

Analysis of primary production in the Seto Inland Sea, Japan, using a simple ecosystem model

A simple model of lower trophic level ecosystem has been created to analyze possible environmental control of primary production in eight sub-areas of the Seto Inland Sea. The primary production rates observed by Hashimotoet al. (1997a) in these sub-areas are well reproduced by the model, including horizontal processes such as horizontal transport of nutrients and vertical processes such as vertical mixing, light intensity and sinking of particulate matter. Without taking account of horizontal processes the model also successfully reproduces the observed primary production rates in some areas, but if fails to reproduce those in the others. This shows that the relative importance of the horizontal transport on the primary production differs are by area. Two time scales,T _z andT _H, are introduced to explain this difference.T _z is a vertical cycling time of material, which is defined as the time during which the stock of the material in the water column is utilized for primary production;T _H is the horizontal transit time of the material. The relative importance of the horizontal process is well explained by theT _H/T _z ratio; that is, the horizontal transport process is important in the areas where this ratio is small. Further the possible mechanisms of nutrient supply for the primary production in each sub-area are investigated using this model.