Critical depth for the survival of coral islands: effects on the hawaiian archipelago

Coral islands drown when sea level rise exceeds the maximum potential of coral reefs to grow upward (about 10 millimeters per year). During the Holocene transgression (18,000 years ago to present) sea levels rose at rates of up to 10 to 20 millimeters per year, and most coral island reefs situated deeper than a critical depth of30 to 40 meters below present day sea level drowned. Coral islands that did not drown during the Holocene transgression apparently all developed on antecedent foundations shallower than critical depth. During low stands in sea level during the Pleistocene, these islands were elevated and subject to subaerial erosion. Today, in the Hawaiian Archipelago, the depth of drowned banks is inversely related to summit area; smaller banks are progressively deeper, evidently because of erosional truncation during low sea level stands. Bank summit area may therefore be an important factor determining the failure or success of coral islands.     

Mg/Ca Thermometry in Coral Skeletons

The magnesium-to-calcium (Mg/Ca) ratio of coral skeletons from Ishigaki Island, Ryukyu Islands, Japan, closely tracked sea surface temperature (SST) over an 8-year period. Measurements were made with the fast technique of inductively coupled plasma-atomic emission spectrometry. The variation of the coral Mg/Ca ratio with SST change is about four times that of the current, widely used coral strontium-to-calcium ratio. The temporal and geographic variation of the seawater Mg2+/Ca2+ ratio probably has little influence on coral Mg/Ca variation. Results indicate that the coral Mg/Ca ratio has the potential to provide fast, precise, high-resolution proxies for past tropical SSTs.     

Accreting neutron stars, black holes, and degenerate dwarf stars

During the past 8 years, extended temporal and broadband spectroscopic studies carried out by x-ray astronomical satellites have led to the identification of specific compact x-ray sources as accreting neutron stars, black holes, and degenerate dwarf stars in close binary systems. Such sources provide a unique opportunity to study matter under extreme conditions not accessible in the terrestrial laboratory. Quantitative theoretical models have been developed which demonstrate that detailed studies of these sources will lead to a greatly increased understanding of dense and superdense hadron matter, hadron superfluidity, high-temperature plasma in superstrong magnetic fields, and physical processes in strong gravitational fields. Through a combination of theory and observation such studies will make possible the determination of the mass, radius, magnetic field, and structure of neutron stars and degenerate dwarf stars and the identification of further candidate black holes, and will contribute appreciably to our understanding of the physics of accretion by compact astronomical objects.     

Coral record of equatorial sea-surface temperatures during the penultimate deglaciation at huon peninsula

Uplifted coral terraces at Huon Peninsula, Papua New Guinea, preserve a record of sea level, sea-surface temperature, and salinity from the penultimate deglaciation. Remnants have been found of a shallow-water reef that formed during a pause, similar to the Younger Dryas, in the penultimate deglaciation at 130,000 +/- 2000 years ago, when sea level was 60 to 80 meters lower than it is today. Porites coral, which grew during this period, has oxygen isotopic values and strontium/calcium ratios that indicate that sea-surface temperatures were much cooler (22 degrees +/- 2 degreesC) than either Last Interglacial or present-day tropical temperatures (29 degrees +/- 1 degreesC). These observations provide further evidence for a major cooling of the equatorial western Pacific followed by an extremely rapid rise in sea level during the latter stages of Termination II.     

Contribution of small glaciers to global sea level

Observed long-term changes in glacier volume and hydrometeorological mass balance models yield data on the transfer of water from glaciers, excluding those in Greenland and Antarctica, to the oceans. The average observed volume change for the period 1900 to 1961 is scaled to a global average by use of the seasonal amplitude of the mass balance. These data are used to calibrate the models to estimate the changing contribution of glaciers to sea level for the period 1884 to 1975. Although the error band is large, these glaciers appear to account for a third to half of observed rise in sea level, approximately that fraction not explained by thermal expansion of the ocean.     

模拟海底水流和光照条件下光棘球海胆行为特征及其聚礁效果的初步研究

为观察光棘球海胆Strongylocentrotus nudus在饱食、饥饿和饥饿再投喂状态下的行为特征,及其对水泥、PVC两种材质模型礁的聚集特性,在实验室中模拟光棘球海胆栖息海域底层的昼夜水流速度和光照强度进行试验。结果表明:当光照强度达到560 lx、水流速度达到20 cm/s(9:00)时,均匀分布的光棘球海胆有90%向模型礁附近区域移动;当光照强度和水流速度下降时,光棘球海胆向模型礁附近区域外移动;运动趋势明显的光棘球海胆在饱食、饥饿和饥饿再投喂3种状态下的平均移动速度分别为0.039、0.041、0.052 cm/s,3种状态下光棘球海胆顺、逆水流运动次数的比值依次为饥饿状态(1.63)饱食状态(1.18)饥饿再投喂状态(0.73),饥饿再投喂状态下光棘球海胆的活跃程度高于饱食和饥饿状态;鱼礁材质也影响光棘球海胆的聚集行为,光棘球海胆在饱食、饥饿和饥饿再投喂状态下对水泥模型礁的平均聚集率分别为25%、17%、24%,对PVC模型礁的平均聚集率分别为16%、7%、12%,光棘球海胆对两种模型礁的聚集效果均为饱食状态饥饿再投喂状态饥饿状态。研究表明,光棘球海胆在饱食和饥饿再投喂状态下对两种模型礁的聚集效果较好,而水泥材质的模型礁比PVC材质的模型礁聚集效果更好。     

Ice volume and sea level during the last interglacial

During the last interglacial period, ~125,000 years ago, sea level was at least several meters higher than at present, with substantial variability observed for peak sea level at geographically diverse sites. Speculation that the West Antarctic ice sheet collapsed during the last interglacial period has drawn particular interest to understanding climate and ice-sheet dynamics during this time interval. We provide an internally consistent database of coral U-Th ages to assess last interglacial sea-level observations in the context of isostatic modeling and stratigraphic evidence. These data indicate that global (eustatic) sea level peaked 5.5 to 9 meters above present sea level, requiring smaller ice sheets in both Greenland and Antarctica relative to today and indicating strong sea-level sensitivity to small changes in radiative forcing.     

Insular erosion, isostasy, and subsidence

Organic reefs and shore erosion record the intersection of sea level with islands. From this record it is possible to reconstruct the history of vertical movement of the islands and the adjacent deep sea floor, including midplate swells. As judged by coral thickness, islands with barrier reefs sink as though they were on thermally youthful crust regardless of the actual age. Reefless islands do not sink until truncated by erosion. Apparently, thermal subsidence is balanced by isostatic uplift in response to erosion. Barrier reefs prevent wave erosion of encircled volcanoes and capture products of stream erosion so that isostatic uplift is eliminated. Insular shelves widen initially at rates of 0.6 to 1.7 kilometers per million years; the rates decrease with time. Thus the subsidence of islands depends on the size of the is land and the presence of reefs, and it may not always be the same as that of the surrounding oceanic crust.     

大连市2010年气候特征及影响评估

利用大连市7个观测站1971～2010年气象资料,分析2010年的气候特征及影响评估。结果表明,全市平均年降水量显著偏多,气温偏低,日照异常偏少,相对湿度和雷暴日正常,大风日偏少,大雾日偏多,无霜期偏长。气象灾害较多,年内发生持续低温、雪灾、海冰、冰雹、大雾、暴雨、大风、雷电等主要天气气候事件,给农业、林业、水资源、水产养殖业、交通和旅游等行业造成一定的影响。降水时空分布不均匀,且低温寡照,农业收成正常,气候上属于一般年景。     

Destruction of Pacific Corals by the Sea Star Acanthaster planci

Acanthaster planci, a coral predator, is undergoing a population explosion in many areas of the Pacific Ocean. Data on feeding rates, population movements, and stages of infestation were collected along coral reefs of Guam and Palau. Direct observations on destruction of Guam's coral reefs indicate that narrow, fringing reefs may be killed as rapidly as 1 kilometer per month. In a 2(1/2)-year period, 90 percent of the coral was killed along 38 kilometers of Guam's shoreline.     

Elimination of two reef-building hydrocorals following the 1982-83 el nino warming event

One probable extinction and one range reduction of eastern Pacific reef-building hydrocoral (Millepora) species mark the first documented cases of species eliminations resulting from the worldwide 1980s coral reef bleaching events. Two of 12 Panamanian coral species were eliminated suddenly from their former ranges by prolonged high sea temperatures during the 1982-83 El Ni?o-Southern Oscillation event. Three conditions contributed to their demise: high sensitivity to sea warming, populations confined to a small geographic area, and bathymetric restriction to the euphotic zone (相似文献   

Isolation of several peptides with relaxin activity

When a relaxin preparation was subjected to counter-current distribution for 355 transfers in a butanol-trichloroacetic acid system, significant biological activity was found over a band appreciably wider than was expected for a single component. By refractionation of the active band, three peptides with relaxin activity were isolated.     

流化床干燥红茶的特性

阐述了流化床干燥CTC和Freedom红茶的干燥特性以及干燥温度对产品平均尺寸的影响.试验表明,干燥过程可以分为2个阶段,即第1干燥阶段和第2干燥阶段.在第1干燥阶段排气温度保持不变,而在第2干燥阶段排气温度逐渐升高.提高干燥温度有利于CTC红茶干燥强度以及排气相对湿度的提高;提高干燥温度难以使Freedom红茶的干燥强度大幅度提高,却使排气相对湿度降低.提高干燥温度可以增大CTC红茶产品的平均粒度,但不影响Freedom红茶产品的平均粒度.     

芦芽山阴坡华北落叶松-云杉天然次生林林分空间结构特征

  目的  分析芦芽山国家级自然保护区阴坡典型天然次生林的林分空间结构,为当地天然次生林的科学经营和相似立地条件下人工林的培育提供参考依据。  方法  以芦芽山自然保护区阴坡5个不同海拔的华北落叶松Larix principis-rupprechtii-云杉Picea spp.天然次生林群落调查数据为基础,通过计算群落的角尺度、大小比数、混交度和林分空间结构指数,分析不同海拔群落的空间结构特征。  结果  华北落叶松-云杉天然次生林平均角尺度为0.51~0.53,林木空间分布格局以聚集分布为主,但聚集程度较低,优势树种在林分中属于随机分布;各海拔林木的大小分化程度整体均接近中庸状态,林木大小分化程度较小,华北落叶松的大小比数小于云杉,表明华北落叶松的竞争力较大;随海拔高度的上升,林木空间隔离程度呈下降趋势;林分空间结构指数随海拔升高而下降,低海拔林分的整体结构较其他海拔更好。  结论  研究区华北落叶松-云杉天然次生林群落均处于演替后期阶段,海拔1 950 m处林分的空间结构最好,稳定性最高。图1表4参20     

Rapid fluctuations in sea level recorded at huon peninsula during the penultimate deglaciation

About 140,000 years ago, the breakup of large continental ice sheets initiated the Last Interglacial period. Sea level rose and peaked around 135,000 years ago about 14 meters below present levels. A record of Last Interglacial sea levels between 116,000 years to 136, 000 years ago is preserved at reef VII of the uplifted coral terraces of Huon Peninsula in Papua New Guinea. However, corals from a cave situated about 90 meters below the crest of reef VII are 130, 000 +/- 2000 years old and appear to have grown in conditions that were 6 degreesC cooler than those at present. These observations imply a drop in sea level of 60 to 80 meters. After 130,000 years, sea level began rising again in response to the major insolation maximum at 126,000 to 128,000 years ago. The early (about 140,000 years ago) start of the penultimate deglaciation, well before the peak in insolation, is consistent with the Devils Hole chronology.     

The effect of algal symbionts on the accuracy of Sr/Ca paleotemperatures from coral

The strontium-to-calcium ratio (Sr/Ca) of reef coral skeleton is commonly used as a paleothermometer to estimate sea surface temperatures (SSTs) at crucial times in Earth's climate history. However, these estimates are disputed, because uptake of Sr into coral skeleton is thought to be affected by algal symbionts (zooxanthellae) living in the host tissue. Here, we show that significant distortion of the Sr/Ca temperature record in coral skeleton occurs in the presence of algal symbionts. Seasonally resolved Sr/Ca in coral without symbionts reflects local SSTs with a temperature sensitivity equivalent to that of laboratory aragonite precipitated at equilibrium and the nighttime skeletal deposits of symbiotic reef corals. However, up to 65% of the Sr/Ca variability in symbiotic skeleton is related to symbiont activity and does not reflect water temperature.     

Marine Planation of Tropical Limestone Islands

Geological studies in the western Atlantic indicate that sea level is now near its highest position since the Pleistocene, and that intertidal erosion at this level has been negligible. The evidence conflicts with the idea that many coral reefs were recently planed down from a higher stand of the sea.     

3月北半球海冰趋势变化的区域特征及影响因子分析

利用海冰密集度资料和海冰范围指数,分析了3月北半球海冰在1979-1995年和1996-2014年2个时间段内的变化趋势以及趋势差异的区域特征.结果表明:北半球3月总海冰范围以稳定速率减少,速率无明显加速.而各个分海域的海冰变化表现出一定的区域差异.其中,巴伦支海海冰在2个时期内以稳定的速率减少;白令海海冰不减反增;鄂霍次克海海冰缩减速度在后期减小;圣劳伦斯湾的海冰范围在90年代中期以前显著增大,后期缓慢缩减. 3月海冰趋势变化的空间特征与同期表面气温和表面风场的趋势变化相一致.     

猕猴桃品种"皖翠"芽变位点的SCAR标记研究

对 "海沃德"与"皖翠"RAPD扩增的2条分子量为740 bp、649 bp的特异带,进行了分离、纯化、克隆与测序,根据测序结果设计出4条20 bp的特异引物,进行SCAR-PCR扩增.SCAR-PCR扩增结果显示,分子量为649 bp的特异带在"皖翠"与"海沃德"中都扩增出了条带,说明"皖翠"这一RAPD扩增特异带并不存在;"皖翠"扩增出现了分子量为740 bp的特异带,而"海沃德"未出现此带,证明"海沃德"与"皖翠"存在此变异位点,成功地将"皖翠"变异的RAPD标记转化为SCAR标记,此标记可应用于"皖翠"品种的快速鉴定.     

6-9月秘鲁外海茎柔鱼资源的空间异质性研究

根据2003-2012年6-9月(2005年数据缺失)秘鲁外海茎柔鱼渔获数据,利用全局和局部自相关性分析,结合半变异函数模型,探讨秘鲁外海茎柔鱼资源分布的异质性特点,并寻找影响茎柔鱼空间分布的关键环境因子。研究认为:(1)全局自相关统计量Moran’s I和局部自相关统计量Getis-Ord Gi*的Z得分结果显示,秘鲁外海茎柔鱼呈斑块状中等程度的聚集分布,7月份的聚集性强;(2)趋势性分析认为,6-9月茎柔鱼资源在南北方向上基本都呈现出南低北高的变化趋势,而东西方向上均呈现出中间高两端低的分布趋势;(3)6、8月份的最优模型为高斯模型,7月份的最优模型为球状模型,9月份的最优模型为指数模型,6-9月份的块金系数分别为41.33%、24.66%、25.89%和35.42%,其反映了中等程度自相关性,与全局自相关的分析结果一致;(4)相关性检验认为,秘鲁外海茎柔鱼资源局部聚集分布主要是受到海表面高度的影响。对秘鲁外海茎柔鱼资源分布空间异质性的研究,对揭示其栖息地分布及其生态学意义具有一定的作用。