The Continuous Plankton Recorder: concepts and history, from Plankton Indicator to undulating recorders

Alister Hardy conceived the Continuous Plankton Recorder (CPR) survey in the 1920s as a means of mapping near-surface plankton in space and time, interpreting the changing fortunes of the fisheries and relating plankton changes to hydrometeorology and climatic change. The seed he planted has grown to become the most extensive long-term survey of marine organisms in the world and the breadth of his vision becomes ever more apparent. The survey has now run for over 70 years and its value increases with every passing decade. Operating from ‘ships of opportunity’ the machines used are robust, reliable and easy to handle. Wherever possible, all the sampling and analytical methods have not been changed to maintain the consistency of the time series. Computerisation and the development of new statistical approaches have increased our ability to handle the large quantities of information generated and enhance the sensitivity of the data analyses. This overview, based on almost 900 papers, recounts the various phases in the history of the survey. It starts with the Indicator Survey (1921–1934), the deployment of the first CPR on the Discovery Expedition (1924–1927) and the early CPR survey in the North Sea (1931–1939). The survey reopened in 1946 after the Second World War and expanded across the North Atlantic to North America from 1959. Taxonomic studies were initiated and an emphasis was placed on patterns of distribution, which were seen to reflect the varying oceanographic conditions. The years 1968–1976 saw further expansion with operations even in the American Great Lakes, publication of a Plankton Atlas and initial evidence for a downward trend in plankton biomass. At about this time electronic instrumentation was attached to CPRs to make additional measurements and work was started on the development of a new generation of undulating Continuous Plankton and Environmental Recorders (CPERs). In 1976 the survey moved to Plymouth. Scientific priorities in the UK changed in the subsequent decade and funding became more difficult to secure even though some of the CPR papers being published at the time are now regarded as classics in plankton ecology. In 1988 the UK Natural Environment Research Council (NERC) decided to close the survey. An international rescue operation led to the creation of the Sir Alister Hardy Foundation for Ocean Science (SAHFOS) in 1990, which has continued with consortium funding from a number of countries, and from 1999 again included NERC. The scientific rationale of the survey has gained credibility as concern over climate change and other anthropogenic effects has grown and as the key role that plankton plays as an indicator of large-scale environmental conditions becomes ever more apparent. Recently, the survey became an integral component of the Global Ocean Observation System (GOOS) and expanded into the North Pacific. It plays a complementary role in many large international and multidisciplinary projects and is providing inspiration, advice and support to daughter surveys elsewhere in the world. At the start of a new millennium, Hardy’s vision from the 1920s is a powerful driving force not just in international biological oceanography, but in global environmental science.     

Hyper Redundancy for Accuracy Enhancement in Automated Close Range Photogrammetry

A generic network design in close range photogrammetry is one where optimal multi-ray intersection geometry is obtained with as few camera stations as practicable. Hyper redundancy is a concept whereby, once the generic network is in place, many additional images are recorded, with the beneficial impact upon object point precision being equivalent to the presence of multiple exposures at each camera position within the generic network. The effective number of images per station within a hyper redundant network might well be in the range of 10 to 20 or more. As is apparent when it is considered that a hyper redundant network may comprise hundreds of images, the concept is only applicable in practice to fully automatic vision metrology systems, where it proves to be a very effective means of enhancing measurement accuracy at the cost of minimal additional work in the image recording phase. This paper briefly reviews the network design and accuracy aspects of hyper redundancy and illustrates the technique by way of the photogrammetric measurement of surface deformation of a radio telescope of 26 m diameter. This project required an object point measurement accuracy of σ  = 0·065 mm, or 1/400 000 of the diameter of the reflector.     

西北区域气象计量实验室综合能力比对结果分析

分析评价西北区域参加实验室比对的试验结果,及时发现问题并进行纠正,总结实施实验间比对工作的经验,提高实验室检定/校准能力和质量管理水平。参加比对的计量检定实验室分别对气压、温度、湿度、风速比对样品进行比对试验,用归一化偏差(En)进行统计分析。2011年西北区域气象计量检定的温度、湿度、气压实验室比对结果为满意,风速实验室比对结果为较满意。该次比对的实验数据客观、真实、可信,是对各参加比对实验室检定/校准能力的综合评价,较为客观地反映了各技术机构检定装置的测量能力、检定人员的技术水平以及西北区域气象计量标准装置的现状。     

A metrologic method of anomaly field amplitude bottom reduction in undersampled geomagnetic marine surveys

We show the results obtained by means of a seabed reduction technique on the intensity of geomagnetic anomaly fields applied to a synthetic case and then to the real case of a geomagnetic survey of eastern Ligurian Sea (Italy). The eastern Ligurian Sea has very intense short waves anomaly fields and a sea bed that varies greatly in depth. As a result the geomagnetic space signal is characterized by a very large spectral content; in these conditions it is not possible to obtain a full sampled marine survey and vertical continuation analytic procedures and standard numerical bottom reduction based on a single vertical incremental parameter, whichever is applicable, fails to give accurate results. The present technique, which has been fine-tuned over 4 years of experimentation in environmental researchs, aims to provide a simple and efficient means to reduce the distortion of geomagnetic anomalies field caused by the variation of distance between survey plane and magnetic outcrop source position. The compensation procedure is based on evaluation, by comparison of two measurements carried out at different altitudes, of the mean vertical increment typical of each anomaly field principal frequency component bands. The component anomaly fields are then corrected by application of the corresponding vertical increments and lastly, the anomaly geomagnetic field reduced to the sea-bed is computed as Inverse Fourier Transform of a spectrum built as synthesis of the component anomaly fields' spectra. The results obtained have shown a notable increase in definition of anomaly field intensity without the production of appreciable distortions or false geomagnetic echoes. This revised version was published online in November 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

线纹计量器具检定系统表修订建议

JJG 2001-1987《线纹计量器具检定系统》是我国线纹计量器具进行量值传递的检定系统表,但其存在着许多不足,已无法满足当今计量检定的需要。此处对该检定系统表进行详细分析后给出修订建议,并介绍了目前国际上有关动向,提出了一些有益建议。     

印尼贯穿流对热带太平洋-印度洋海温异常综合模影响的初步模拟研究

印尼海域是联系热带太平洋和印度洋的纽带,为了讨论印度尼西亚贯穿流对热带太平洋-印度洋海温异常综合模的影响,利用一个准全球海洋环流模式,设计了打开、关闭印度尼西亚通道的数值试验对该问题进行初步探讨。试验结果表明,印尼贯穿流对热带太平洋、印度洋海温和海流的模拟有重要影响。在海洋表层,印尼贯穿流对热带太平洋-印度洋海温异常综合模所起作用不大,这时海洋的外强迫(大气风场、太阳辐射等)起主要作用;而在次表层,印尼贯穿流对热带太平洋-印度洋海温异常综合模起着重要的作用。     

空间构件形位检测方法与技术进展

精密工程与工业测量技术应用领域拓展及其与工业计量测试技术的交叉融合,衍生出"空间构件形位检测"技术、方法与系统。本文详细论述了"空间构件"与"形位检测"的定义及范畴,依测量原理将大尺寸空间构件形位检测技术归纳为正交系测量系统、空间支导线测量系统、三角法测量系统和球坐标法测量系统等,综述了各类测量系统和软件的技术进展,分析指出了狭长或超大空间、恶劣环境、目标动态变化等条件下的形位检测难题。