Impact of humans on the flux of terrestrial sediment to the global coastal ocean

Here we provide global estimates of the seasonal flux of sediment, on a river-by-river basis, under modern and prehuman conditions. Humans have simultaneously increased the sediment transport by global rivers through soil erosion (by 2.3 +/- 0.6 billion metric tons per year), yet reduced the flux of sediment reaching the world's coasts (by 1.4 +/- 0.3 billion metric tons per year) because of retention within reservoirs. Over 100 billion metric tons of sediment and 1 to 3 billion metric tons of carbon are now sequestered in reservoirs constructed largely within the past 50 years. African and Asian rivers carry a greatly reduced sediment load; Indonesian rivers deliver much more sediment to coastal areas.     

Carbon dioxide emission from european estuaries

The partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2) in surface waters and related atmospheric exchanges were measured in nine European estuaries. Averaged fluxes over the entire estuaries are usually in the range of 0.1 to 0.5 mole of CO2 per square meter per day. For wide estuaries, net daily fluxes to the atmosphere amount to several hundred tons of carbon (up to 790 tons of carbon per day in the Scheldt estuary). European estuaries emit between 30 and 60 million tons of carbon per year to the atmosphere, representing 5 to 10% of present anthropogenic CO2 emissions for Western Europe.     

Caldera Collapse in the Galapagos Islands, 1968: The largest known collapse since 1912 followed a flank eruption and explosive volcanism within the caldera

The summit caldera of Isla Fernandina, a large, uninhabited basaltic shield volcano, was further enlarged by 1 to 2 km(3) in June 1968. A small quake and large vapor cloud on 11 June were followed 4 hours later by a remarkable volcanic ash cloud and, after another hour, by a major explosion recorded at infrasonic stations throughout the hemisphere. Seismic activity increased to a peak on 19 June, when more than 200 events per day were recorded by a seismograph 140 km away. Several hundred quakes were in the magnitude range 4.0 to 5.4 m(b), but few such events were recorded after 23 June. Unusual lightning accompanied the major cloud, and, during the evening of 11 June, distant observers reported red glow and flashes from the area. Fine ash fell that night and much of the next day to distances at least 350 km from the volcano.     

Correlation of volcanic activity with sulfur oxyanion speciation in a crater lake

The Yugama crater lake at Kusatsu-Shirane volcano, Japan, contains nearly 2200 tons (2800 parts per million) of polythionate ions (Sn O(6)(2-), where n = 4 to 9). Analytical data on lake water sampled before and during eruptions in 1982 showed that the concentrations of polythionates decreased and sulfate increased in response to the preeruption activities of the subaqueous fumaroles. These changes were observed 2 months before the first phreatic explosion on 26 October 1982. The monitoring of polythionates and sulfate in crater lake water is a promising means of anticipating potential volcanic eruption hazards.     

Very-long-period seismic signals and caldera formation at Miyake Island, Japan

Over a period of roughly 40 days, starting on 8 July 2000, a caldera structure 1.7 kilometers in diameter developed by means of gradual depression and expansion of the summit crater at Miyake Island, Japan. At the same time, very-long-period (VLP) seismic signals were observed once or twice a day. Source mechanism analyses of the VLP signals show that the moment tensor solutions are smooth step functions over a time scale of 50 seconds, with dominant volumetric change components. We developed a model to explain the caldera and the VLP signals, in which a vertical piston of solid materials in the conduit is intermittently sucked into the magma chamber by lateral magma outflow. This model offers potential for making quantitative estimations of the characteristic physical properties of magma systems.     

Storage and remobilization of suspended sediment in the lower Amazon river of Brazil

In the lower Amazon River, suspended sediment is stored during rising stages of the river and resuspended during falling river stages. The storage and resuspension in the reach are related to the mean slope of the flood wave on the river surface; this slope is smaller during rising river stages than during falling stages. The pattern of storage and resuspension damps out the extreme values of high and low sediment discharge and tends to keep them near the mean value between 3.0 x 10(6) and 3.5 x 10(6) metric tons per day. Mean annual discharge of suspended sediment in the lower Amazon is between 1.1 x 10(9) and 1.3 x 10(9) metric tons per year.     

Decadal variation of the surface water PCO2 in the western and central equatorial Pacific

The equatorial Pacific Ocean is one of the most important yet highly variable oceanic source areas for atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2). Here, we used the partial pressure of CO2 (PCO2), measured in surface waters from 1979 through early 2001, to examine the effect on the equatorial Pacific CO2 chemistry of the Pacific Decadal Oscillation phase shift, which occurred around 1988 to 1992. During the decade before the shift, the surface water PCO2 (corrected for temperature changes and atmospheric CO2 uptake) in the central and western equatorial Pacific decreased at a mean rate of about -20 microatm per decade, whereas after the shift, it increased at about +15 microatm per decade. These changes altered the CO2 sink and source flux of the equatorial Pacific significantly.     

Net Exchange of CO2 in a Mid-Latitude Forest

The eddy correlation method was used to measure the net ecosystem exchange of carbon dioxide continuously from April 1990 to December 1991 in a deciduous forest in central Massachusetts. The annual net uptake was 3.7 +/- 0.7 metric tons of carbon per hectare per year. Ecosystem respiration, calculated from the relation between nighttime exchange and soil temperature, was 7.4 metric tons of carbon per hectare per year, implying gross ecosystem production of 11.1 metric tons of carbon per hectare per year. The observed rate of accumulation of carbon reflects recovery from agricultural development in the 1800s. Carbon uptake rates were notably larger than those assumed for temperate forests in global carbon studies. Carbon storage in temperate forests can play an important role in determining future concentrations of atmospheric carbon dioxide.     

Airborne studies of the smoke from the kuwait oil fires

Airborne studies of smoke from the Kuwait oil fires were carried out in the spring of 1991 when approximately 4.6 million barrels of oil were burning per day. Emissions of sulfur dioxide were approximately 57% of that from electric utilities in the United States; emissions of carbon dioxide were approximately 2% of global emissions; emissions of soot were approximately 3400 metric tons per day. The smoke absorbed approximately 75 to 80% of the sun's radiation in regions of the Persian Gulf. However, the smoke probably had insignificant global effects because (i) particle emissions were less than expected, (ii) the smoke was not as black as expected, (iii) the smoke was not carried high in the atmosphere, and (iv) the smoke had a short atmospheric residence time.     

温度、氮输入对洪河湿地CO_2通量的影响

采用静态箱-气相色谱仪法,对洪河湿地CO2呼吸通量进行观测,模拟不同水平氮输入湿地,设计0、20、40、60 g.m-2四种氮水平及秸秆还田处理,探讨不同氮水平对洪河湿地CO2释放的影响。结果表明,7月生态系统呼吸通量高于其他月份,呈现出季节变化的单峰模式。湿地CO2通量与温度具有相关性,其中与5 cm深土壤温度相关性最强,呈指数相关关系。不同氮水平系统呼吸通量与5 cm地温二次相关。氮输入促进了湿地CO2排放,且中氮量输入(N2PK)释放量最多,秸秆还田技术能抑制中氮输入量产生的高呼吸通量。     

北温带干旱地区土壤-大气界面CO2通量的变化特征

采用箱法对栗钙土、灰钙土、粗骨土和山地灰褐土4种有代表性的干旱土壤表面CO2通量进行观测和研究。结果表明:森林土壤（粗骨土和山地灰褐土）的通量显著大于草原土壤（栗钙土和灰钙土）。干旱区土壤表面CO2通量的平均值为230.05 μmol/(m2·h),变化范围为-147.27～2 319.55 μmol/(m2·h)。不同土壤类型之间存在差异,粗骨土(351.82 μmol/(m2·h))山地灰褐土(347.33 μmol/(m2·h))栗钙土(193.36 μmol/(m2·h))灰钙土(162.37 μmol/(m2·h))。土壤表面CO2通量存在季节变化,趋势呈“S”形。9月份最高(516.79 μmol/(m2·h)),以土壤向大气释放为主;1月份最低(－7.09 μmol/(m2·h)),以大气进入土壤为主;具有春夏秋冬交替规律,与气候变化趋势基本一致,土壤表面CO2通量稍有后滞。全天候土壤表面CO2通量呈“山峰”形变化,04:00最小(154.13 μmol/(m2·h)),12:00最大(349.65 μmol/(m2·h)),具有昼夜交替规律,比气候日变化稍有滞后。影响土壤表面CO2通量的环境因子有地表空气温度、土壤温度（0～10 cm、10～20 cm和20～30 cm）、土壤含水量（0～10 cm、10～20 cm和20～30 cm）;其中,地表空气温度、土壤温度（0～10 cm、10～20 cm和20～30 cm）和土壤含水量（0～10 cm）分别与土壤表面CO2通量呈正相关关系,而10～20 cm和20～30 cm深度的土壤含水量与土壤表面CO2通量呈负相关关系,地表空气相对湿度与土壤表面CO2通量的关系不显著。大气与土壤之间的CO2存在双向转移机制,CO2不仅从土壤向大气转移,而且也从大气向土壤转移,热量在地球表面的差异性分布,导致温带和寒带地区的土壤具有平衡大气CO2浓度的功能,是温带、寒带地区的显著特征。      

Rapid acidification of the ocean during the Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum

The Paleocene-Eocene thermal maximum (PETM) has been attributed to the rapid release of approximately 2000 x 10(9) metric tons of carbon in the form of methane. In theory, oxidation and ocean absorption of this carbon should have lowered deep-sea pH, thereby triggering a rapid (<10,000-year) shoaling of the calcite compensation depth (CCD), followed by gradual recovery. Here we present geochemical data from five new South Atlantic deep-sea sections that constrain the timing and extent of massive sea-floor carbonate dissolution coincident with the PETM. The sections, from between 2.7 and 4.8 kilometers water depth, are marked by a prominent clay layer, the character of which indicates that the CCD shoaled rapidly (<10,000 years) by more than 2 kilometers and recovered gradually (>100,000 years). These findings indicate that a large mass of carbon (>2000 x 10(9) metric tons of carbon) dissolved in the ocean at the Paleocene-Eocene boundary and that permanent sequestration of this carbon occurred through silicate weathering feedback.     

Volatiles from the 1994 Eruptions of Rabaul: Understanding Large Caldera Systems

The 1994 eruption of Rabaul, in Papua New Guinea, involved a small plinian eruption at Vulcan and a vulcanian eruption on the opposite side of the caldera at Tavurvur. Vulcan's ash leachates indicate seawater interaction that is consistent with earlier observations of low sulfur dioxide emissions and the presence of ice crystals in the initial plinian eruption cloud. In contrast, Tavurvur ash leachates indicate no seawater interaction, and later sulfur dioxide emissions remained high despite low-level eruptive activity. Silicic melt inclusions indicate that the andesitic melt contained about 2 weight percent water and negligible carbon dioxide. Mafic melt inclusions in Tavurvur ash have water and carbon dioxide contents that vary systematically over the course of the eruption. The mafic melt inclusions suggest that a mafic dike intruded from below the silicic chamber and provide further evidence that mafic intrusions drive caldera unrest.     

Buried caldera of mauna kea volcano, hawaii

An elliptical caldera (2.1 by 2.8 kilometers) at the summit of Mauna Kea volcano is inferred to lie buried beneath hawaiite lava flows and pyroclastic cones at an altitude of approximately 3850 meters. Stratigraphic relationships indicate that hawaiite eruptions began before a pre-Wisconsin period of ice-cap glaciation and that the crest of the mountain attained its present altitude and gross form during a glaciation of probable Early Wisconsin age.     

Response of CO2 Emissions to the change of Major Environmental Factors in a Temperate Grassland Ecosystem

Using dark enclosed chamber technique,CO2 fluxes from meadow,Leymus chinensis grassland and Stipa grandis grassland and major environmental factors were measured in Xilin River Basin of Inner Mongolia under abnormally dry circumstances during June to September 2001,when rainfall was less than 1/6 of that in normal years.Results showed the diurnal variation of CO2 flux was significantly positively correlated with the earth's surface temperature and air temperature.As to the response of the fluxes of CO2 to annual precipitation,the average CO2 emission decreased from 268.7,211.6 to 181.4 mgm-2 h-1 in meadow,Leymus chinensis grassland and Stipa grandis grassland,respectively,with a decrease in annual precipitation.Therefore precipitation was an important environmental factor influencing CO2 flux from grassland.We also found close positively correlation between CO2 emissions and soil water content,organic content and total nitrogen content in different soil layers.However,there was little correlation between the monthly fluctuation of CO2 emissions with air temperature,topsoil temperature and soil temperatures at 5 and 10 cm soil depth.     

Fossil fuels as a source of mercury pollution

The upper limit of the quantity of mercury released by weathering processes is approximately 230 metric tons per year. The quantity of mercury released by burning of coal is estimated to be of the order of 3000 tons per year, a quantity comparable to that emitted as waste from industrial processes.     

Sulfuric Acid droplet formation and growth in the stratosphere after the 1982 eruption of el chichon

The eruption of El Chichón Volcano in March and April 1982 resulted in the nucleation of large numbers of new sulfuric acid droplets and an increase by nearly an order of magnitude in the size of the preexisting particles in the stratosphere. Nearly 10(7) metric tons of sulfuric acid remained in the stratosphere by the end of 1982, about 40 times as much as was deposited by Mount St. Helens in 1980.     

Selective logging in the Brazilian Amazon

Amazon deforestation has been measured by remote sensing for three decades. In comparison, selective logging has been mostly invisible to satellites. We developed a large-scale, high-resolution, automated remote-sensing analysis of selective logging in the top five timber-producing states of the Brazilian Amazon. Logged areas ranged from 12,075 to 19,823 square kilometers per year (+/-14%) between 1999 and 2002, equivalent to 60 to 123% of previously reported deforestation area. Up to 1200 square kilometers per year of logging were observed on conservation lands. Each year, 27 million to 50 million cubic meters of wood were extracted, and a gross flux of approximately 0.1 billion metric tons of carbon was destined for release to the atmosphere by logging.     

杭州木荷次生林生物量的研究

杭州西湖山区北高峰南坡的木荷次生林的生物量、生长量及凋落量的调查结果表明:①林分总生物量为134.113t/hm~2,其中活植物体126.649t/hm~2;②总生物量各个层次分配比例为:乔木层80.16％,更新层5.67％,灌木层3.84％,草本层4.76％,枯落物层5.57％;③在乔木层中,干、枝和叶的生物量分别分53.591,16.996和4.835t/hm~2,占地上部分的70.95％,22.50％和6.40％,根生物量18.474t/hm~2,占该层生物量的29.76％;④全林年生长量18.474t/hm~2,乔木层12.598t/hm~2,占68.19％,更新层1.948t/hm~2,占10.54％;⑤年平均凋落量5.848t/hm~2,叶凋落量占79.49％。2～4月和8～9月分别是凋落的两个高峰季节。     

Carbon Dioxide Transport by Ocean Currents at 25{degrees}N Latitude in the Atlantic Ocean

Measured concentrations of CO(2), O(2), and related chemical species in a section across the Florida Straits and in the open Atlantic Ocean at approximately 25 degrees N, have been combined with estimates of oceanic mass transport to estimate both the gross transport of CO(2) by the ocean at this latitude and the net CO(2) flux from exchange with the atmosphere. The northward flux was 63.9 x 10(6) moles per second(mol/s); the southward flux was 64.6 x 10(6) mol/s. These values yield a net CO(2) flux of 0.7 x 10(6) mol/s (0.26 +/- 0.03 gigaton of C per year) southward. The North Atlantic Ocean has been considered to be a strong sink for atmospheric CO(2), yet these results show that the net flux in 1988 across 25 degrees N was small. For O(2) the equivalent signal is 4.89 x 10(6) mol/s northward and 6.97 x 10(6) mol/s southward, and the net transport is 2.08 x 10(6) mol/s or three times the net CO(2) flux. These data suggest that the North Atlantic Ocean is today a relatively small sink for atmospheric CO(2), in spite of its large heat loss, but a larger sink for O(2) because of the additive effects of chemical and thermal pumping on the CO(2) cycle but their near equal and opposite effects on the CO(2) cycle.