The Cenozoic palaeoenvironment of the Arctic Ocean

The history of the Arctic Ocean during the Cenozoic era (0-65 million years ago) is largely unknown from direct evidence. Here we present a Cenozoic palaeoceanographic record constructed from >400 m of sediment core from a recent drilling expedition to the Lomonosov ridge in the Arctic Ocean. Our record shows a palaeoenvironmental transition from a warm 'greenhouse' world, during the late Palaeocene and early Eocene epochs, to a colder 'icehouse' world influenced by sea ice and icebergs from the middle Eocene epoch to the present. For the most recent approximately 14 Myr, we find sedimentation rates of 1-2 cm per thousand years, in stark contrast to the substantially lower rates proposed in earlier studies; this record of the Neogene reveals cooling of the Arctic that was synchronous with the expansion of Greenland ice (approximately 3.2 Myr ago) and East Antarctic ice (approximately 14 Myr ago). We find evidence for the first occurrence of ice-rafted debris in the middle Eocene epoch (approximately 45 Myr ago), some 35 Myr earlier than previously thought; fresh surface waters were present at approximately 49 Myr ago, before the onset of ice-rafted debris. Also, the temperatures of surface waters during the Palaeocene/Eocene thermal maximum (approximately 55 Myr ago) appear to have been substantially warmer than previously estimated. The revised timing of the earliest Arctic cooling events coincides with those from Antarctica, supporting arguments for bipolar symmetry in climate change.     

Episodic fresh surface waters in the Eocene Arctic Ocean

It has been suggested, on the basis of modern hydrology and fully coupled palaeoclimate simulations, that the warm greenhouse conditions that characterized the early Palaeogene period (55-45 Myr ago) probably induced an intensified hydrological cycle with precipitation exceeding evaporation at high latitudes. Little field evidence, however, has been available to constrain oceanic conditions in the Arctic during this period. Here we analyse Palaeogene sediments obtained during the Arctic Coring Expedition, showing that large quantities of the free-floating fern Azolla grew and reproduced in the Arctic Ocean by the onset of the middle Eocene epoch (approximately 50 Myr ago). The Azolla and accompanying abundant freshwater organic and siliceous microfossils indicate an episodic freshening of Arctic surface waters during an approximately 800,000-year interval. The abundant remains of Azolla that characterize basal middle Eocene marine deposits of all Nordic seas probably represent transported assemblages resulting from freshwater spills from the Arctic Ocean that reached as far south as the North Sea. The termination of the Azolla phase in the Arctic coincides with a local sea surface temperature rise from approximately 10 degrees C to 13 degrees C, pointing to simultaneous increases in salt and heat supply owing to the influx of waters from adjacent oceans. We suggest that onset and termination of the Azolla phase depended on the degree of oceanic exchange between Arctic Ocean and adjacent seas.     

Human chromosome 11 DNA sequence and analysis including novel gene identification

Chromosome 11, although average in size, is one of the most gene- and disease-rich chromosomes in the human genome. Initial gene annotation indicates an average gene density of 11.6 genes per megabase, including 1,524 protein-coding genes, some of which were identified using novel methods, and 765 pseudogenes. One-quarter of the protein-coding genes shows overlap with other genes. Of the 856 olfactory receptor genes in the human genome, more than 40% are located in 28 single- and multi-gene clusters along this chromosome. Out of the 171 disorders currently attributed to the chromosome, 86 remain for which the underlying molecular basis is not yet known, including several mendelian traits, cancer and susceptibility loci. The high-quality data presented here--nearly 134.5 million base pairs representing 99.8% coverage of the euchromatic sequence--provide scientists with a solid foundation for understanding the genetic basis of these disorders and other biological phenomena.     

Spatial Heterogeneity of Vegetation in China

The spatial heterogeneity and ecological characteristics of 74 vegetation types and the lack of vegetation type within the 9.6 million km2 of Chinese territory were studied using data from the China vege- tation map. The analysis used 877 large quadrats 10 mm×10 mm (actual size 100 km×100 km), which cov- ered about 8.77 million km2. Each large-quadrat was divided into four small 5 mm×5 mm quadrats (actual size 50 km×50 km). The frequency of occurrence of all vegetation types was recorded in each small quadrat. The survey using the Shiyomi method of vegetation analysis based on the beta-binomial distribution was adopted to describe the frequency of occurrence and spatial heterogeneity for each kind of vegetation. The weighted average heterogeneity of all the vegetation types in the landscape provides a measure of the landscape level heterogeneity which describes the spatial intricacy of the existing vegetation composition. The maximum spatial vegetation heterogeneity was 0.8620 in the frigid-temperate coniferous forest of Larix (V1), which dominates cold moist northeast China. The minimum spatial heterogeneity with a low occurrence was the Caragana tibetica in the gravel desert in the western Yellow River Hetao area. The minimum occur- rence with a low spatial heterogeneity was the Monsoon rainforest on rock in Guangxi and Yunnan Provinces. The vegetation types on the Qing-Zang Plateau were found to be representative of Chinese vegeta- tion because of the very high occurrence and spatial heterogeneity of these vegetation types. The weighted average of the heterogeneity was 0.677, while the vegetation diversity index was 3.29.     

日本那须地区人工草地牧草生物量随时间变化的解析--Ⅱ地下生物量

国立草地研究所位于日本中部的西那须地区，在其所辖人工草地的放牧试验区内，进行了以下实验：(1)研究不同放牧压对地下生物量的影响(1974-1981年)，(2)研究不同施肥水准对地下生物量的影响(1982-1989年)．在与上述相同的放牧样地内，除去了放牧条件的差异(以相同的放牧压和施肥水准)，继续进行了5年的放牧试验(1990-1994)．结果表明地下生物量(包括新鲜的根和地下茎)的季节和年度变化较大，呈现出随着放牧年限增加而年年递减的趋势．     

Non-Fourier heat conduction study for steady states in metallic nanofilms

As a fundamental theory of heat transfer, Fourier’s law is valid for most traditional conditions. Research interest in non-Fourier heat conditions is mainly focused on heat wave phenomena in non-steady states. Recently, the thermomass theory posited that, for steady states, non-Fourier heat conduction behavior could also be observed under ultra-high heat flux conditions at low ambient temperatures. Significantly, this is due to thermomass inertia. We report on heat conduction in metallic nanofilms from large currents at low temperatures; heat fluxes of more than 1×1010 W m 2 were used. The measured average temperature of the nanofilm is larger than that based on Fourier’s law, with temperature differences increasing as heat flux increased and ambient temperature decreased. Experimental results for different film samples at different ambient temperatures reveal that non-Fourier behavior exists in metallic nanofilms in agreement with predictions from thermomass theory.     

Fractals in Spatial Patterns of Vegetation Formations

Introduction The quantification of spatial patterns, a focal subject in ecological research, is used as a foundation for meas-urement and analysis of the quality of habitats and the biodiversity[1]. Historically, the dominant approach has been used to cho…