2004年至2009年南极中山站的气候变化特征

利用2004年～ 2009年逐月气象资料,采用气候统计诊断分析方法,对中山站气温、气压、相对湿度、风的气候变化趋势进行研究.结果表明,中山站平均气温四季均呈下降趋势,变化幅度为-0.003℃/a～-0.46℃/a,冬季气温降幅最大,秋季降幅最小;年平均气温表现为弱的下降趋势,平均每年下降-0.003℃;年极端最高气温呈逐年下降趋势,降幅为-0.4℃/a,年极端最低气温呈逐年上升趋势,升幅为0.2℃/a;年平均气温、极昼平均气温日变化呈升温趋势,升幅分别为0.04℃/a、0.01℃/a,极夜平均气温表现为弱的降温趋势,降幅为-0.002℃/a;年平均气压、极端最高气压、极端最低气压、年平均相对湿度、年最小相对湿度均呈明显的下降趋势;平均风速具有明显的日变化规律,2004年2月～2009年11月大风日数共出现了835d,年大风日数均在100d以上;最大风速最大值为31.5m.s-1、极大风速最大值为39.1m.s-1,均出现在11月;年最多风向频率为49％～64％,以NE、E为主.     

1961—2010年西双版纳傣族自治州极端气温时空变化特征

利用1961—2010年西双版纳傣族自治州的逐日气象格点数据(0.25°×0.25°),运用R软件摘出研究区范围内的每个格点数据,利用STARDEX中的FORTRAN子程序计算出57个极端气候指数,选取其中与气温相关的9个主要极端指数,结合线性趋势分析与Mann-Kendall秩次检验等方法分析了1961—2010年西双版纳极端气温变化的特征。结果表明:(1)西双版纳近50年来气温呈显著上升趋势,平均气温、平均最高气温和平均最低气温分别以0.27℃/10a、0.22℃/10a和0.36℃/10a的速率上升,其值的空间分布呈现出自西北向东南递减趋势;(2)气温日较差平均值和较大气温日较差阈值呈下降趋势,分别以0.13℃/10a和0.25℃/10a的速率下降,其值的空间分布呈现出自西向东递减趋势;(3)冷暖日、冷暖夜阈值均呈上升趋势,分别以0.27℃/10a、0.16℃/10a、0.46℃/10a和0.27℃/10a的速率上升趋势,其值的空间分布呈现出北部、西北部向南部、东南部递减趋势。西双版纳气温变化呈明显增温趋势,研究区冷事件在减少,暖事件在增多。     

秦皇岛市近64年气温变化特征分析

利用1954—2017年秦皇岛市气象站逐月平均气温资料,运用线性趋势、滑动平均等方法,对秦皇岛市气温变化特征进行分析。结果表明:近64 a秦皇岛平均气温呈上升趋势,趋势率为0.169℃/10 a;年平均最高气温和平均最低气温升温趋势率为0.153℃/10 a和0.156℃/10 a;不同季节升温不同,春季和冬季升温更为突出;月气温变化中3月升温趋势最大,2月次之;年极端最高气温变化范围在31.0~40.0℃,年极端最低气温变化范围-26~-8.6℃;秦皇岛观测站搬迁后气温比20世纪90年代明显下降。     

都兰县近40年气候资源变化特征分析

利用都兰县1961－2000年40年气象资料，运用统计学方法，对光、热、水等气候资源以及蒸发、风等气象要素的变化进行了分析，揭示了气候资源变化的基本事实和变化规律。结果表明：随着全球气候的变暖，近40年来，都兰县平均气温以0.269℃/10a的气候倾向率呈较明显的增温趋势，进入20世纪90年代升温趋势更加明显；气温≥0℃、≥5℃和≥10℃期间的积温均呈上升趋势，其中，≥10℃期间的积温上升趋势最为明显；年和汛期降水量增加，夏季降水量增加尤为明显；日照时数、蒸发和风速的年际变化呈下降趋势。     

秦皇岛地区气候资源及农业气候资源特征分析

利用近50 a秦皇岛气象资料,对该地区气候资源及农业气候资源特征进行了分析总结。结果表明:秦皇岛地区年降水量650～700 mm左右,呈减少趋势。全年80%保证率的降水量为425 mm,存在供需矛盾。蒸发量较降水量明显偏多,直接决定了该地区土壤在自然状态下绝大部分时段处于干旱状态。年平均气温10℃左右,呈上升趋势。平均年太阳辐射总量为5 154 MJ/m2,太阳辐射资源较丰富。秦皇岛地区农时较长,气温稳定通过10℃期间历时192 d,可以实行短生育期作物一年二熟或套作二熟。     

西宁市近50年气候变化特征分析

利用西宁市气象观测站1961~2010年的气温和降水资料,分析了西宁市近50年的气候特征及周期变化。结果表明:50年来西宁市年平均气温呈现非连续性上升趋势,线性倾向值为0.09℃/10a,各季的变暖趋势和变暖幅度不尽相同,增幅依次为冬季、春季、秋季、夏季。50年来降水总体为波动中明显增加的趋势,增长率为16.3mm/10a,各季降水量也呈增加的趋势。西宁市降水和气温的年代分布具有明显的阶段性,显示气候变化具有阶段性、季节差异性特征。近50年来,西宁市年气温和降水变化均以27a为第1主周期。     

黄山近50年的气候变化研究

利用1956-2005年黄山风景区光明顶气象站的气象资料，分析了近50年黄山旅游风景区气温、降水、日照时数的变化特征。结果显示，黄山风景区年均温、冬季、夏季气温均呈上升趋势，冬季增温强于夏季；降水总体趋势下降；年平均日照时数也呈总体下降趋势，表明黄山风景区气候正在趋向变暖，特别是20世纪90年代以来气温升高显著，冬季增温明显，夏季降水变化加剧。     

乌兰县近35年气候变化及对生态环境的可能影响分析

利用乌兰气象观测站1981~2015年气温、降水资料,运用气候诊断分析方法,分析近35年来乌兰气温、降水变化特征。结果表明:1981~2015年间乌兰气温存在变暖趋势,年气候倾向率为0.363℃/10a;春、夏、秋、冬四个季节的气候倾向率为0.3℃/10a(秋季)~0.5℃/10a(春季)。春季增温最为明显,冬季和夏季增温较为明显,秋季增温较缓;年平均气温在1996~1997年间发生突变。年降水量主要集中在5~9月份,此时降水量(172.0mm)占年降水量(194.1mm)的88.61%,其余月份的降水量(22.1mm)仅占年降水量的11.39%。1982~1985年、1990~2003年出现降水连续偏少年份,2004~2012年为降水持续偏多年份。从20世纪80年代起,乌兰降水呈现出增多趋势,但突变检验表明:降水虽有增加趋势,但未发生突变性增加。平均气温的增加趋势,在一定程度上能够有效扩大农作物种植面积,延长农作物生长季节,增加农作物品种和产量,提高农作物品质,但也可能会增加干旱、洪涝、冰雹、雷电、雪灾等农牧业气象灾害出现机率。     

秦皇岛探测环境变化对气象要素的影响

为分析秦皇岛地面气象探测环境变化对气象要素的影响，采用距平百分率和线性倾向估计及趋势系数等方法，对秦皇岛气象站（54449）新、旧站址搬迁前后1989—1998、1999—2008年各10年，与没有迁站的昌黎站做同期资料比较，结果表明：秦皇岛探测环境变化对气象要素有显著影响：年平均气温、年极端气温较迁站前显著下降，相对湿度增大，日照时数明显减少，雾日增多。指出气象要素变化除具有随时间变化的共同差异外，主要受探测环境变化的影响。     

安徽砀山水果产区近十年气候变化的R/S分析

基于1996—2005年的地面气象资料,应用R/S方法对砀山近十年平气温、降水和日照量等气候要素进行了分析。结果表明,砀山年平均气温、极端最高气温和极端最低气温均呈下降趋势,年降水量呈上升趋势,年日照量变化和缓,且具有较强的持续性。气候要素年际季节变化趋势表现为:冬、夏季平均温差减小,气温年较差有减小的趋势;降水夏季增加,其他各季节平均降水变率减小,各季节平均日照量变率减小。     

BIOLOGICAL INDICATORS AND BIOLOGICAL EFFECTS OF ESTUARINE/COASTAL POLLUTION1

ABSTRACT: Sustained interest in and concern about the health status of the aquatic environment has resulted in extensive research focused on (1) effects of pollution on survival, growth, and reproduction of resource species at all life stages; (2) diseases of fish and shellfish, as they may be related to pollution and as they may serve as indicators of environmental stress; and (3) contaminant body burdens in fish and shellfish - their effects on the aquatic animals and their potential effects on humans. Effects, lethal and sublethal, of pollutants on life history stages of fish and shellfish have been documented, as have impacts on local stocks in badly degraded habitats, but as yet there has been no adequate quantitative demonstration of effects on entire aquatic species - probably because of the difficulty in sorting out relative effects of the many environmental factors that influence abundance. Sublethal effects, especially those that result in disease, have been examined intensively, and some diseases and disease syndromes have been associated statistically with pollution. Other pollution indicators (biochemical, physiological, genetic, behavioral, and ecological) have also received some attention, as have body burdens of contaminants in aquatic species. Research, especially that conducted during the past decade, has done much to clarify the many pathways and toxic effects of contaminants on aquatic animals, and has also helped to identify mechanisms for survival of fish and shellfish in the presence of environmental changes caused by human activities.     

Definition Procedures Have Little Effect on Performance of Environmental Classifications of Streams and Rivers

Mapped environmental classifications are defined using various procedures, but there has been little evaluation of the differences in their ability to discriminate variation in independent ecological characteristics. We tested the performance of environmental classifications of the streams and rivers of France that had been defined from the same environmental data using geographic regionalization and numerical classification of individual river valley segments. Test data comprised invertebrate assemblages, water chemistry, and hydrological indexes obtained from sites throughout France. Classification performance was measured by analysis of similarity (ANOSIM). Geometric regions defined by a regular grid and without regard to environmental variables and a posteriori classifications based on clustering the test datasets defined lower and upper bounds of performance for a given number of classes. Differences in classification performances were generally small. The ANOSIM statistics for the a posteriori classifications were around twice that of all environmental classifications, including geometrically defined regions. The hydro-ecoregions performed slightly better for the invertebrate data and the network classification performed slightly better for the chemistry and hydrological data. Our results indicate that environmental classifications that are defined using different procedures can be comparable in terms of their ability to discriminate variation of ecological characteristics and that alleged differences in performance arising from different classification procedures can be small relative to unexplained variation. We conclude that definition procedures might have little effect on the performance of large-scale environmental classifications and decisions over which procedures to use should be based primarily on pragmatic considerations.     

Journalists' views of advertiser pressures on agricultural news

All major journalism ethical codes explicitly state that journalists should protect editorial copy from undue influence by outside sources. However, much of the previous research on agricultural information has concentrated on what information various media communicate (gatekeeping studies) or communication's role in increasing innovation adoption (diffusion studies). Few studies have concentrated specifically on organizational and structural constraints that might adversely affect agricultural journalists' ethical standards; those that have, focus largely on farm magazines. A study of newspaper reporters who cover agricultural news found that the most pressing ethical concern is the effect of advertiser (agri-business) pressure on editorial copy, and that their concerns in general parallel those of farm magazine writers and editors. The majority reported being in situations in which they might be exposed to advertiser pressure, including pressures to change or withhold editorial copy. Large minorities suggested that advertising pressures affect the overall environment in which agricultural journalists work, and more than one in ten said they allow advertiser pressures to influence editorial decisions. The newspaper reporters who cover agricultural beats showed slightly more resistance to advertiser pressure than did farm magazine editors in a parallel study.     

Effect of Light on Biodegradation of Estrone, 17β‐Estradiol,and 17α‐Ethinylestradiol in Stream Sediment

Biodegradation of [A‐ring ¹⁴C] Estrone (E1), 17β‐estradiol (E2), and 17α‐ethinylestradiol (EE2) to ¹⁴CO₂ was investigated under light and dark conditions in microcosms containing epilithon or sediment collected from Boulder Creek, Colorado. Mineralization of the estrogen A‐ring was observed in all sediment treatments, but not epilithon treatments. No difference in net mineralization between light and dark treatments was observed for ¹⁴C‐E2. Net mineralization of ¹⁴C‐E1 and ¹⁴C‐EE2 was enhanced in light treatments. Extents of ¹⁴CO₂ accumulation and rates of mineralization were significantly greater for E2 than E1 under dark conditions, but were comparable under light conditions. These results indicate substantial differences in the uptake and metabolism of E1 and E2 in the environment and suggest biorecalcitrance of E1 relative to E2 in light‐limited environments. The extent of ¹⁴CO₂ accumulation and rate of mineralization for EE2 in dark treatments were less than half of that observed for E2 and generally lower than for E1, consistent with previous reports of EE2 biorecalcitrance. However, ¹⁴CO₂ accumulation and rates of mineralization were comparable for EE2, E2, and E1 under light conditions. These results indicate photoactivation and/or phototransformation/photodegradation processes can substantially enhance heterotrophic biodegradation of estrogens in sunlit environments and may play an important role in estrogen transport and attenuation.     

Bioremediation of Soils by Plant–Microbe Systems

Abstract

Sustainable ecosystems can be designed to eliminate environmental toxins and reduce pathogen loads through the direct and indirect consequences of plant and microbial activities. We present an approach to the bioremediation of disturbed environments, focusing on petroleum hydrocarbon (PHC) contaminants. Treatment consists of incorporating a plant-based amendment to enhance ecosystem productivity and physiochemical degradation followed by the establishment of plants to serve as oxidizers and foundations for microbial communities. Promising amendments for widespread use are entire plants of the water fern Azolla and seed meal of Brassica napus (rapeseed). An inexpensive byproduct from the manufacture of biodiesel and lubricants, rapeseed meal is high in nitrogen (6% wt/wt), stimulates >100-fold increases in populations of resident Streptomyces species, and suppresses fungal infection of roots subsequently cultivated in the amended soil. Synergistic enzymatic and chemical activities of plant and microbial metabolism in root zones transform and degrade soil contaminants. Emphasis is given to mechanisms that enable PHC functionalization via reactive molecular species.     

Energetics and environmental costs of agriculture in a dry tropical region of India

The present article, based on a study of five village ecosystems, assesses the energy efficiency of rain-fed agriculture in a dry tropical environment and the impact of agricultural activity on the surrounding natural ecosystems. Agronomic yield is insufficient to meet the food requirement of the human population, hence 11.5%–49.7% of the required amount of food grains are imported from the market. Energy requirements of five studied agroecosystems are subsidized considerably by the surrounding forest in the form of fodder and firewood. Natural ecosystems supply about 80%–95% of fodder needs and 81%–100% of fuelwood needs. The output-input ratio of agriculture indicated that, on average, 4.1 units of energy are expended to obtain one unit of agronomic energy. Of this, 3.9 units are supplied by the natural ecosystem. In addition, 38% of the extracted firewood is marketed. The illegal felling and lopping of trees result in ever-increasing concentric circles of forest destruction around the villages and together with excessive grazing results in savannization. The forests can be conserved by encouraging fuelwood plantations (0.7 ha/ha cultivated land) and developing village pastures (1.6 ha/ha cultivated land) and reducing the livestock numbers. Agricultural production in the region can be stabilized by introducing improved dry farming techniques such as intercropping, planned rainwater management, and adequate use of fertilizers.     

WHAT DO WE MEAN BY “METROPOLITAN WATER MANAGEMENT INSTITUTIONS?”1

ABSTRACT The term “institution” and several variants are used frequently in the literature on metropolitan water management. The state-of-the art investigation on which this paper is based revealed that 1) many uses of the term do not include careful definitions; 2) many users of the term seemed unaware of the general, theoretical literature on the subject of institutions; 3) there was little consistency among uses, either in the practical literature dealing with water or in the conceptual literature dealing with theories of institutions or institutionalization; 4) some usages were without significant meaning; 5) in many cases the term was used as a kind of “black box” to account for behavioral, societal, or managerial factors; 6) the term was often used as a synonym for “organization”. This latter use is frequently found in federal reports, including National Water Commission studies, and is most unfortunate because it tends to slight significant social-psychological factors. A suggested definition is: “An institution is the structured result or outcome of a process by which values are articulated, arranged, and communicated, having continuity over time, and influencing behavior of persons who did not necessarily participate in formulating those values (norms).”     

Waste minimisation in practice

One of the major hindrances to waste minimisation on a construction site is the difficulty in establishing a methodology and using this methodology to benchmark future construction projects. This paper introduces SMARTWaste, a software tool that has been used to audit, reduce and target waste arisings on a construction site. This tool tries to link the construction process and the waste hierarchy. That is reducing waste on a construction site rather than landfilling it. Three applications of the SMARTWaste software will be discussed using case studies from three different types of construction. An evaluation of these case studies shows that, by implementing a waste minimisation scheme on-site, you can improve material recovery for reuse. Also, by using the waste arisings as a benchmark you can reduce your waste arisings on future sites. Application of SMARTWaste or a similar waste minimisation tool on a wider basis could reduce waste arisings and could result in a built environment that consumed less natural resources and energy, and also produced less pollution and waste. Such a built environment would be environmentally and socially more responsive and responsible.     

COMPARISON OF TRACE ELEMENT CONCENTRATIONS IN TISSUE OF COMMON CARP AND IMPLICATIONS FOR MONITORING1

Common carp (Cyprinus carpio) collected from four sites in the Red River of the North in 1994 were analyzed for arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), chromium (Cr), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), nickel (Ni), selenium (So), and zinc (Zn). Concentrations differed among liver, muscle, and whole body. Generally, trace element concentrations were the greatest in livers while concentrations in whole bodies were greater than those in muscle for Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn, and concentrations in muscle were similar to whole body for As and Se. Concentrations of Cr were lower in liver than either muscle or whole body. Correlations between liver and whole body concentrations were stronger than those between liver and muscle concentrations, but the strongest correlations were between muscle and whole body concentrations. Examination of tissue concentrations by collection sites suggested that, for a general survey, the whole body may be the most effective matrix to analyze.     

Macroalgal Introductions by Hull Fouling on Recreational Vessels: Seaweeds and Sailors

Macroalgal invasions in coastal areas have been a growing concern during the past decade. The present study aimed to assess the role of hull fouling on recreational yachts as a vector for macroalgal introductions. Questionnaire and hull surveys were carried out in marinas in France and Spain. The questionnaires revealed that the majority of yacht owners are aware of seaweed introductions, usually undertake short range journeys, dry dock their boat at least once a year, and use antifouling paints. The hull survey showed that many in-service yachts were completely free of macroalgae. When present, fouling assemblages consisted mainly of one to two macroalgal species. The most commonly found species was the tolerant green seaweed Ulva flexuosa. Most of the other species found are also cosmopolitan and opportunistic. A few nonnative and potentially invasive Ceramiales (Rhodophyta) were found occasionally on in-service yachts. On the basis of the information gathered during interviews of yacht owners in the surveyed area, these occurrences are likely to be uncommon. However they can pose a significant risk of primary or secondary introductions of alien macroalgal species, especially in the light of the increase in yachting activities. With large numbers of recreational yachts and relatively rare occurrences of nonnative species on hulls, comprehensive screening programs do not seem justified or practical. The risks of transferring nonnative species may, however, be minimized by encouraging the behaviors that prevent fouling on hulls and by taking action against neglected boats before they can act as vectors.