Modeling estuarine-shelf exchanges in a deltaic estuary: Implications for coastal carbon budgets and hypoxia

The export of wetland-derived materials to the coastal ocean (i.e., the “Outwelling” hypothesis) has received considerable attention over the past several decades. While a number of studies have shown that estuaries export appreciable amounts of nutrients and carbon, few studies have attempted to estimate the importance of estuarine sources for the coastal carbon budgets in river-dominated coastal ecosystems. A novel tidal prism model was developed to examine estuarine-shelf exchanges in the Barataria estuary, a deltaic estuary located in the north-central Gulf of Mexico. This estuary has been the site of a massive wetland loss, and it has been hypothesized that carbon export from the eroding coastal wetlands supports the development of a large hypoxic zone in the coastal Gulf of Mexico. The model results show that the Barataria estuary receives nitrogen through the tidal passes and releases carbon to the coastal ocean. The mean calculated tidal water discharge of 6930 m³ s⁻¹ is equivalent to about 43% of the lower Mississippi River discharge. The annual total organic carbon (TOC) export is 109 million kg, or 57 gC m² yr⁻¹ when prorated to the total water area of the estuary. This carbon export is equivalent to a loss of 0.5 m of wetland soil horizon over an area of 8.4 km², and accounts for about 34% of the observed annual wetland loss in the estuary between 1978 and 2000. Compared to the lower Mississippi River, the Barataria estuary appears to be a very small source of TOC for the northern Gulf of Mexico (2.7% of riverine TOC), and is unlikely to have a significant influence on the development of the Gulf's hypoxia.     

海州露天矿采空区地表CO2通量的试验研究

为探究海州露天矿东邦废弃采空区自然发火状态,基于采空区遗煤自燃特性和气体扩散理论,采用智能土壤气体通量监测系统,以月为单位,对东邦自燃采空区上覆地表CO₂通量开展长周期、多测点连续性监测试验;根据试验区域内地表CO₂通量和土壤温度分布特征,探究地下火区释放CO₂的地表涌出范围和变化情况;同时,着眼于温室气体排放的评估,计算试验区域内的CO₂涌出量,并分析其随时间的变化特征。结果表明:地表CO₂通量与土壤温度有明显正相关性;试验区域地表CO₂高通量区域呈逐月扩大和递增的趋势;CO₂涌出量随月份逐渐递增,试验区域年CO₂涌出量约为3.6×10⁶ m³。     

北太平洋地区春季粉尘的空间分布特征——观测及模拟

通过对2001年4月的一次中亚强沙尘暴过程的观测事实分析和数值模拟,结果表明,源自中亚的强沙尘暴扬起的粉尘,通过西风急流远程传输到韩国、日本、北太平洋、北美大陆.北太平洋地区的沙尘沉积通量空间分布将主要取决于3个方面:沙尘沉积通量随传输距离的增加呈指数衰减;传输路径上粉尘有较高的沉降通量;沙尘过境时的降水空间格局将在很大程度上决定粉尘的沉降空间格局.     

多环芳烃在珠江口的百年沉积记录

伶仃洋西滩为珠江口的重要沉积区之一.本文分析了采自伶仃洋西滩沉积钻孔(Core 25)中多环芳烃的垂直分布和含量特征,结合²¹⁰Pb定年,重现了该地区近百年来多环芳烃(PAH)的沉积历史.多环芳烃在整个沉积剖面(0～62cm)的含量介于59～330ng·g^-1 (干重) .从19世纪60年代开始,PAH沉积通量逐渐上升,在20世纪50年代达到第一个高峰值.PAH含量在20世纪60～70年代有所降低.20世纪80年代后,PAH含量急剧上升,并在90年代达到最高值.珠江口沉积柱中的多环芳烃主要为热成因来源,其通量变化与周边人类活动(国内生产总值,机动车数量,能源消耗)呈正相关.大气干湿沉降及地表的冲刷作用是PAH进入水体沉积物的主要途径.     

Dynamics of Carbon Pools and Fluxes in Russia's Forest Lands

The state and results of studies on the carbon cycle of forests on lands of the Russian forest fund (total area 1172 × 10⁶ ha) are analyzed at the federal level. Consideration is given to changes in the areas of different categories of forest lands, the age structure of stands, the pool and deposition of carbon in the phytomass, and the organic carbon pool of soils over the period from 1966 to 1998; the dynamics of activity in the forest industry by years and the extent of pyrogenic transformation of the forest cover between 1990 and 2001; and carbon fluxes associated with forest exploitation, including carbon emission resulting from fires.     

Dynamic pursuing ecological model concerning the nitrogen cycle in the environment of Chinese mainland

The paper gives a special dynamic pursuing ecological model on the bio-geochemical cycle of nitrogen in the whole range 9.6 million square kilometers of Chinese mainland, basing on the reservoir-content and flux-rate of nitrogen and among the four spheres: atmosphere, pedosphere, biosphere, and hydrosphere, and the law of bio-geochemical cycle of nitrogen, the model predicted the size of reservoir capacities and fluxes of nitrogen in each sphere. Through tested and verified, the model was proven reasonable and reliable.     

黄、东海污染物越界通量的估算研究

对黄、东海污染物越界通量估算方法进行了研究。黄、东海污染物SPM、Cu、Pb、Zn、Cd、Hg的越界通量估算值分别为82 1742 75± 10 0 70 3 0 0 4kg/h、5 883 31± 5 35 5 47kg/h、5 6 3 2 5± 45 2 2 2kg/h、17895 93± 15 6 96 45kg/h、1113 45± 85 0 0 8kg/h、35 32± 37 93kg/h。     

潮滩沉积物-水界面营养盐N、P分布及交换特征

通过2月枯季和8月洪季样品的采集、室内分析和测试,对滨岸带潮滩沉积物孔隙水中营养盐含量的分布、迁移和扩散通量进行了初步研究。结果表明,NH_4~--N和N0_3~--N的平均含量8月洪季比2月枯季低,但是NO_2-N含量在8月份却达到最高,为0.04 mg/L;TP在季节分布上变化不大,8月洪季时含量较高。在空间分布上发现,排污口及大面积围垦对营养盐局部分布的影响较大。营养盐剖面分布总体趋势为NH_4~--N含量随深度增加而增加,NO_3~--N随深度增加而减少,但同时受到沉积速率和污水排放的影响。潮滩沉积物—水界面间无机氮磷的平均扩散通量分别为7.15、-0.53μg/(cm~2·d),因此沉积物是N的输入源,P的汇。同时还发现,污染物的排放能极大地改变该地区的N、P迁移量甚至迁移方向。     

Seasonal variations of organic-carbon and nutrient transport through a tropical estuary (Tsengwen) in southwestern Taiwan

This paper reports the fluvial fluxes and estuarine transport of organic carbon and nutrients from a tropical river (Tsengwen River), southwestern Taiwan. Riverine fluxes of organic carbon and nutrients were highly variable temporally, due primarily to temporal variations in river discharge and suspended load. The sediment yield of the drainage basin during the study period (1995–1996, 616 tonne km^–2 year^–1) was ca. 15 times lower than that of the long-term (1960–1998) average (9379 tonne km² year^–1), resulting mainly from the damming effect and historically low record of river water discharge (5.02 m³ s^–1) in 1995. The flushing time of river water in the estuary varied from 5 months in the dry season to >4.5 days in the wet season and about 1 day in the flood period. Consequently, distributions of nutrients, dissolved organic carbon (DOC) and particulate organic carbon (POC) were of highly seasonal variability in the estuary. Nutrients and POC behaved nonconservatively but DOC behaved conservatively in the estuary. DOC fluxes were generally greater than POC fluxes with the exception that POC fluxes considerably exceeded DOC fluxes during the flood period. Degradation of DOC and POC within the span of flushing time was insignificant and may contribute little amount of CO₂ to the estuary during the wet season and flood period. Net estuarine fluxes of nutrients were determined by riverine fluxes and estuarine removals (or additions) of nutrients. The magnitude of estuarine removal or addition for a nutrient was also seasonally variable, and these processes must be considered for net flux estimates from the river to the sea. As a result, nonconservative fluxes of dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) from the estuary are –0.002, –0.09 and –0.59 mmol m^–2 day^–1, respectively, for dry season, wet season and flood period, indicating internal sinks of DIP during all seasons. Due to high turbidity and short flushing time of estuarine water, DIP in the flood period may be derived largely from geochemical processes rather than biological removal, and this DIP should not be included in an annual estimate of carbon budget. The internal sink of phosphorus corresponds to a net organic carbon production (photosynthesis–respiration, p–r) during dry (0.21 mmol m^–2 day^–1) and wet (9.5 mmol m^–2 day^–1) seasons. The magnitude of net production (p–r) is 1.5 mol m^–2 year^–1, indicating that the estuary is autotrophic in 1995. However, there is a net nitrogen loss (nitrogen fixation–denitrification < 0) in 1995, but the magnitude is small (–0.17 mol m^–2 year^–1).     

Effect of pH on Pb biouptake by the freshwater alga<Emphasis Type="Italic"> Chlorella kesslerii</Emphasis>

The effect of pH on Pb bioaccumulation by Chlorella kesslerii was studied. Both Pb uptake fluxes and Pb bound to membrane transport sites increased with an increase in pH from 4.0–5.0, were relatively stable in the pH interval 5.0–6.5, and increased again at pH 7.0 and 8.0. Protons affected Pb adsorption to the algal surface by competing directly for surface sites, by modifying the overall algal surface charge and by modifying the chemical speciation of Pb in solution. These results indicate a failure of the free-ion activity or biotic ligand models above pH 6.5, possibly due to the bioaccumulation of hydroxo or carbonato Pb complexes.