Aims and Scope

正Acta Geologica Sinica(English Edition)mainly reports the latest and most important achievements in the theoretical and basic research in geological sciences,together with new technologies,in the world.Papers published involve various aspects of research concerning geosciences and related disciplines,such as stratigraphy,paleontology,     

A Comparison of Growth Biomarkers for Assessing Sublethal Effects of Cadmium on a Marine Gastropod, Nassarius festivus

The effect of cadmium on the growth of an intertidal marine gastropod, Nassarius festivus, was investigated using a number of biomarkers namely conventional measurements in terms of increase in shell length or body weight, scope for growth (SfG) and RNA/DNA ratio. After eight days of cadmium exposure, the no observable effect concentration (NOEC) and lowest observable effect concentration (LOEC) for the rate of increase in wet weight were 1.00 and 1.38 mg/l, respectively, while those for shell length did not show any significant difference from the control until day 16. After 16 days of cadmium exposure, the LOEC for both shell length and wet weight measurements was 0.22 mg/l. The 8-day SfG test was sensitive to cadmium stress, showing a significant decrease at 0.16 mg/l cadmium when compared to the control. The NOEC and LOEC of RNA/DNA ratio determination were 0.52 and 0.93 mg/l, respectively. An assessment based on sensitivity and technical complexity suggests that Scope for Growth is the most sensitive growth biomarker, followed by the RNA/DNA ratio, and then the conventional growth measurement based on shell size and body weight.     

Sublethal effects of a chlorinated and heated effluent on the physiology of the mussel,Mytilus edulis L.: A reduction in fitness for survival?

Coastal power stations entrain large volumes of cooling water, requiring biocidal treatment to prevent biological fouling. Discharged effluent is both heated and contaminated with residual traces of biocide and so it is necessary to quantify the impacts of this discharge. Cooling water from Heysham 2 nuclear power station, NW England, UK, is discharged to the intertidal area, via a culvert (to minimise erosion and maximise dilution and dispersion by directing the effluent into the receiving water at all states of the tide) within which the effluent is contained at low water. The culvert and surrounding coastal area support a population of blue mussels (Mytilus edulis). Mussel health was determined along a gradient of exposure, using three physiological indices: Scope for Growth, Gonad Mantle Index and Somatic Condition Index (K Factor). The Mussels within the culvert exhibited reduced physiological index values compared to an external site. A trend was identified down the length of the culvert, representing a gradient of exposure and indicating a potential negative effect on growth and reproductive output.     

Bioenergetic responses in green lipped mussels (Perna viridis) as indicators of pollution stress in Xiamen coastal waters, China

Samples of green lipped mussels (Perna viridis) were collected from three sites (Huoshao, I’Maluan and Tong’an) around Xiamen coastal waters, where levels of various trace organic pollutants have been studied. Samples were also collected at a “cleaner” reference site near Dongshan Island for comparison. Clearance rate, absorption efficiency and oxygen consumption of the mussels were measured under controlled laboratory condition; organic pollutants in their tissues were also analyzed. Scope for growth (SFG) was employed as a general biomarker to evaluate the stress of pollutants. Specimens from Tong’an site had the lowest SFG values (1.14 J/h/g); while specimens from the I’Maluan site and Huoshao site had SFG values of 5.01 and 6.72 J/h/g, respectively. Specimens from Dongshan (reference site) had a relatively high SFG value of 10.96 J/h/g. There was a significant negative correlation between the SFG of the different populations of green lipped mussels and the concentration of DDT in their tissues.     

Effects of copper exposure on the scope for growth of the clam Ruditapes decussatus from southern Portugal

The clam Ruditapes decussatus L. was collected from Ria Formosa, Faro, southern Portugal, and exposed to a sublethal copper concentration of 0.01 mg l⁻¹ for 20 days. Physiological measurements, respiration rates, clearance rates and absorption efficiency, were undertaken initially and after 2, 5, 9, 14 and 20 days and used to calculate Scope for Growth. Copper accumulation rate was calculated through the analysis of copper in the tissues at the same sampling times. The experiment showed two phases. Initially, copper was rapidly accumulated (1.95 μg Cu g⁻¹ dw day⁻¹ in the first 48 h), clearance rates declined markedly (lowest value 13.5% of control) and respiration rates increased (116% of control), resulting in a rapid decline of Scope for Growth, which showed a negative value after 5 days. In the second phase, (from day 9 on), the rate of copper uptake declined to 0.55 μg Cu g⁻¹ day⁻¹ and physiological responses were more stable. After 20 days, copper concentration in the tissues was 38.4 μg Cu g⁻¹ dw (bioconcentration factor 3840). Clearance rates were 50% of control rates and respiration rates were still high, 145% of control rates. Therefore, Scope for Growth and performance of the clams was still greatly affected (ca. 23% of the control values), indicating that though animals partially recovered through detoxifying mechanisms, excess copper caused sustained impairment of physiological functions. This experiment confirms that the physiological energetics approach and the integrated Scope for Growth measurement is a sensitive methodology to detect deviations from normal performance and assess stress at environmental realistic copper concentrations.     

Bioenergetic responses in green lipped mussels (Perna viridis) as indicators of pollution stress in Xiamen coastal waters, China

Samples of green lipped mussels (Perna viridis) were collected from three sites (Huoshao, I’Maluan and Tong’an) around Xiamen coastal waters, where levels of various trace organic pollutants have been studied. Samples were also collected at a “cleaner” reference site near Dongshan Island for comparison. Clearance rate, absorption efficiency and oxygen consumption of the mussels were measured under controlled laboratory condition; organic pollutants in their tissues were also analyzed. Scope for growth (SFG) was employed as a general biomarker to evaluate the stress of pollutants. Specimens from Tong’an site had the lowest SFG values (1.14 J/h/g); while specimens from the I’Maluan site and Huoshao site had SFG values of 5.01 and 6.72 J/h/g, respectively. Specimens from Dongshan (reference site) had a relatively high SFG value of 10.96 J/h/g. There was a significant negative correlation between the SFG of the different populations of green lipped mussels and the concentration of DDT in their tissues.     

Comparison of simultaneous and combinatorial auction designs in fisheries quota market

Individual transferable quota (ITQ) markets are being used successfully to distribute quotas in single region and single species fisheries. In many parts of the world, the development of well crafted markets for multispecies or multiregional fisheries is still evolving. As a result, there exists an opportunity to inform policy by providing research insights into the relative merits of alternative market designs for such fisheries.This study explored the relative merits of a simultaneous ascending auction design and an iterative combinatorial auction design for a hypothetical multiple region quota market. In a simultaneous auction, separate auctions are run in parallel for individual species or regions. During intermediate rounds, fishers can adjust their bids in auction depending on their position in the other auction. In a combinatorial auction, a fisher can purchase a combination of quotas (or a package quota) for different fish species or regions in the same auction. Being able to acquire bundles of species or regions allows fishers to take advantage of complementarities. To date, the potentials of such auctions have not been thoroughly tested in fisheries quota markets. This study found that while a simultaneous auction design was more efficient than combinatorial auction design overall, combinatorial market design took fewer rounds to make final allocations and performed better in high synergy environments.     

天津中心城区基坑降水对地面沉降的影响范围研究

依托天津地区5个典型工程案例,对基坑降水引起的地面沉降规律进行了基本分析。由于基坑降水引起地面沉降的范围较远,往往能达到墙后5~10倍基坑开挖深度的距离,而实际基坑工程坑外沉降的测点往往布置在墙后1~4倍基坑开挖深度的距离,因此难以全面的获得不同类型基坑(如基坑深度不一)降水对地面沉降的影响范围。本文利用有限差分软件Modflow建立三维地下水渗流模型,并利用文化中心站的工程实测数据对该模型进行验证,最后利用该模型研究不同开挖深度的基坑(5~25m)降水对地面沉降的影响范围,并探讨5种不同止水帷幕截断方式的工况下坑内降水后坑外水位及地面沉降随时间发展关系。     

Aims and Scope

正Being an international journal.China Ocean Engineering takes as its prime function the integration of new research concepts,equipment,technology,materials and structures and other scientific advances within the field of estuarial,coastal,offshore,and deepwater engineering with particular reference to developments.The Journal is concerned with all engineering     

Experimental investigation on the dynamic response of a moored wave energy device under regular sea waves

This paper attempts to provide a better understanding of the hydrodynamic behaviour of a floating multi-resonant oscillating column wave energy device which combines the concept of a floating breakwater and a wave energy device. Experiments were conducted on a 1:20 scale model of the floating wave energy device moored by six mooring lines to study the dynamics of the device under regular waves for various scopes. The effect of non-dimensionalized wave frequency parameter on the motion response and mooring force are reported and discussed in detail in this paper.