Coastal wetland in South China:Degradation trends,causes and protection countermeasures

There are abundant coastal wetlands in South China and their main characters are the tidal flats, mangroves and coral reefs. In this paper, the status quo of coastal wetlands in South China is introduced and their degradation trends in the last decades are analyzed based on the existing literatures and information. Their degradation trends are characterized by reduction of coastal wetlands’ area, pollution of seawater environment, degeneration of ecological environment, sharp decrease of biodiversity in the wetlands and so on. At the same time, the causes resulting in the above-mentioned degradations are discussed, mainly concluding imperfect systems of management and legislation, deficient property and assessment systems of the wetlands, weak consciousness of protecting coastal wetlands, shortage of basic study and backward management level and so on. Some countermeasures are put forward for the sake of a sustainable use of the coastal wetlands of South China, mainly including establishing and perfecting administrative and legal systems for the coastal wetlands, developing the study on assessment of coastal wetland, heightening the consciousness of public participation, and strengthening scientific research and establishment of wetland nature reserves.     

Stratigraphic implications of Sinian-Early Cambrian volcanic ash beds on the Yangtze Platform

Volcanic ash beds from shallow- to deep-water facies strata of the Sinian-Early Cambrian (Meishucunian) on the Yangtze Platform consist of bentonites and tuffites which are readily recognized in the field by their physical features and confirmed by geochemical analyses.Geochemistry suggests that the volcanic ash beds in Meishucunian time are rhyolite and rhyodacite while those in the Qiongzhusian and Sinian are andesite and trachyandesite.The ash beds in the time-equivalent strata, even in different areas display rather similar geochemical features, whereas the ash beds in different strata even in the same areas show large chemical difference.The results suggest that these ash beds can be used for intra- and extra-basinal correlations of the Sinian-Early Cambrian interval on the Yangtze Platform.Additionally, these ash beds suggest high potentials for further U-Pb dating strategies.     

NPP distribution related to the terrains along the North-South Transect of Eastern China

Vegetation net primary productivity (NPP) is defined as the accumulative amount of organic matters per unit area and time, which is calculated from the difference between accumulative photosynthesis and accumulative autotrophic respiration by green plants. Since the NPP reflects the physiological and ecological characteristics of the plants and the interactive results of the environmental factors, it is an important index to evaluate a structure of ecological system, functional features and …     

Simulation of meridional overturning in the upper layer of the South China Sea with an idealized bottom topography

The South China Sea (SCS) is the largest marginal sea in the northwestern Pacific. Several important water gateways exist around the SCS, such as Luzon Strait, Taiwan Strait, etc., that lie in the northeastern SCS, and others like Kalimantan Strait, Balawan Strait, etc., lie in the south. Luzon Strait connects the SCS and Pacific via the Philippine Sea, and its water exchange has significant impact on the interior circulations of the SCS[1]. Since direct observation data about the …     

Approaches to prediction of impact of Qinghai-Tibet Railway construction on alpine ecosystems alongside and its recovery

With the aid of the Remote Sensing (RS) and Geographic Information System (GIS) technology, the ecosystem pattern and fragility distribution maps of the 50-km-wide zone along the Qinghai-Tibet Railway were compiled and by using the superimposition method, range, area and indexes of the impact of various engineering activities on the ecosystems alongside the railway were studied. By making reference to the ecosystem recovery process of the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, mechanisms of recovery of the alpine ecosystems alongside the Qinghai-Tibet Railway were studied and extents and rates of the recovery were predicted.The results indicate that the impact of the railway engineering on the Alpine ecosystem depends mainly on how much the original surface soil in the zone has been disturbed and how fragile of the ecosystem per se. Restoration of vegetation coverage and species abundance shows a significantly reverse relationship with disturbance of the original surface soil but an extremely positive one with the length of the restoration period and mean annual precipitation and annual mean relative humidity in the period and no obvious bearings with altitude and temperature. In sections with an annual precipitation over 200mm, as long as a certain percentage of original soil is left in situ, it takes only 30 years or so for biodiversity to get basically restored to the original level after the construction is completed but at least 45-60 years or more for vegetation coverage.     

Deep-water Earliest Oligocene Glacial Maximum （EOGM） in South Atlantic

The most prominent cooling event of the Earth surface during Cenozoic in the long-term transition from a non-glaciated planet, or “green-house world”, to a polar, glaciated planet, or “ice-house world”, is the Earliest Oligocene Glacial Maximum (EOGM) above the Eocene/Oligocene boundary at about 33.7 Ma. Planktonic and benthic foraminiferal oxygen and carbon isotopes, carbonate content, and coarse fraction, along with high-resolution color reflectance and magnetic susceptibility records during 35-30 Ma, from deep-water Sites 1262 and 1265, Ocean Drilling Program (ODP) Leg 208 in South Atlantic, reveal the global cooling event occurring in both surface and deep oceans. The results show that the earliest Oligocene δ^18O values during 33.5-33.1 Ma represent the magnitude of continental ice sheets on east Antarctica and indicate the large decrease in both surface and deep water temperatures of worldwideoceans. The δ^13C records show the large excursion during the period of EOGM event and indicate some types of shift in global carbon reservoir, probably demonstrating the sudden increase in organic carbon burial rates and the changes in the distribution and timing of production. At the same time, lithologic composition, carbonate content, color reflectance, and coarse fraction brought about significant changes close to the Eocene/Oligocene boundary, reflecting the abrupt deepening in the carbonate compensation depth (CCD). Changes in carbonate content were revealed from the color reflectance identify periodicities associated with eccentricity of the Earth‘s orbit (100 and 400 ka), further indicating orbitally forced global climate variations in the Early Oligocene.     

2015年北京、上海和拉萨PM2.5浓度日变化和日际变化分析

分析2015年北京、上海和拉萨3个城市PM_2.5浓度的时间序列, 讨论PM_2.5浓度的季节变化以及各城市PM_2.5浓度日际变化与日变化的相对重要性。从长期来看, 3个城市冬季PM_2.5浓度普遍大于夏季; 从短期来看, 北京和上海PM_2.5浓度主要呈现日际变化, 天气系统的影响远大于日变化。北京冬季PM_2.5浓度在一定程度上也呈现日变化, 但在夏季不明显; 上海在冬季和夏季都不呈现日变化; 拉萨的情况则相反, 当地的天气系统比较稳定, 日际变化不明显,PM_2.5浓度主要受日变化影响,PM_2.5浓度的日变化呈现明显的“双峰”现象。     

南图尔盖盆地SA区块河道砂体演化及定量刻画

针对河道砂体横向变化快而难以有效刻画评价的问题,综合应用分频检测、相位调整、地层切片及地质体雕刻等技术对南图尔盖盆地SA区块上侏罗统阿克萨布拉克组河道发育特征及期次进行了研究。首先,利用分频方法检测出目的层段可能存在的两期调谐厚度不同的河道沉积体;然后,采用波阻抗分析和90°相位转换,揭示目的层段地震负振幅与河道砂岩具有较好的对应关系;最后,在高频层序地层格架内制作等时地层切片的基础上,通过河道沉积特征及典型地层切片振幅的单井标定分析,识别并分期刻画出两期不同类型的河道砂体。结合河道弯度、宽厚比及储集体积等参数综合分析认为,早期河道具有低弯度曲流河特征,晚期河道为具有平直河特征的三角洲平原分流河道,且早期河道储集体积明显高于晚期河道。     

Biogeography of coastal and anchialine amphipods of Ascension Island,South Atlantic Ocean

Over 8000 amphipods were examined from coastal (primarily intertidal) and anchialine pool habitats of Ascension Is. Twenty-seven species, of which 14 are undescribed, were identified. Comparison of species from Ascension with amphipods found in possible source areas suggests that most colonization of the island by these animals has been via the Benguela Current. Possible western Atlantic faunal contributions are significantly lower than for other marine taxa that have been studied at Ascension, all of which are generally characterized by having dispersive larval stages. The high proportion of apparently endemic species, which exceeds that described for amphipods of other oceanic islands, is probably due to both the island's isolation and incomplete faunal surveys in possible source areas. Amphipod species diversity is low, a probable consequence of the size, isolation, youth and low habitat variability of Ascension Is. Consistent with other Atlantic islands that have been studied, nestlers predominate (56% of the species), with tubicolous species (33%) of secondary importance and inquilines (11%) making only a minor contribution. Three species occur in the anchialine pool habitat. Rather unexpectedly, caprellid amphipods are absent.     

A new South American genus and species in the amaryllidid group of lysianassoid Amphipoda

Erikus dahli, a new genus and species in the amaryllidid group of lysianassoid amphipods, is described and illustrated from South American material.