Overview of Radioactive Waste Disposal at Sea

For hundreds of years, the seas have been used as a place to dispose of wastes from human activities. Although no high level radioactive waste has been disposed of into the sea, variable amounts of packaged low level radioactive wastes have been dumped at 47 sites in the northern part of the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. in 1946 the first sea dumping operation took place at a site in the North-East Pacific Ocean. the last dumping operation was in 1982, at a site off the European continental shelf in the Atlantic Ocean. Between these two dates, an estimated 46 PBq (1.24 MCi) of radioactive waste coming from research, medical, military and industrial activities have been disposed of at sea. the present trend, through the Convention for the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and other Matter and other Regional Conventions, points towards the prohibition of the dumping of any radioactive waste into the marine environment.     

THE COMPARISON BETWEEN SOUTHERN ANDES AND ANTARCTIC PENINSULA A REVIEW, NEW PROGRESS AND PROSPECT

The comparative research of southern Andes and Antarctic Peninsula is a key to explain the break-up of Gondwanaland. "Cuspate" , "Arcuate", "Continuing". "Overlapping" and "Modified Gulf of California" model illustrated, to some extent, southern Andes-Antarctic Peninsula relations. However, those models did not discuss the dynamic mechanism and specific evolution process of the two Plates' divergence. "Wedge" model, on the bases of eight geological evidences including tectono-stratigraphic unit, strike-slip fault system, carthquake, igneous activity and so on, not only discussed southern Andes-Antarctic Peninsula relations and its evolution process, but also presented an argument that Scotia minor-plate, which once acted as one part of Pacific Plate wedged in between the two Plates and gave rise to the break-up of Gondwanaland-The argument represents the the latest achievement made in geological research there. On the whole, all models mentioned-above are, more or less, of one-sided view. Where the dynam     

Rapid amino acid cycling in arctic and antarctic soils

Amino acids constitute one of the largest inputs of organic nitrogen (N) to most polar soils and have been hypothesized to be important in regulating vegetational succession and productivity in Arctic ecosystems. Our understanding of amino acid cycling in these soils, however, is poor. The aim of this study was to investigate the size and rate of turnover of the amino acid pool in a range of Arctic and Antarctic soils. Our results indicate that in polar soils with either high or low ornithogenic inputs the amino acid pool is small in comparison to the inorganic N pool (NO^–₃ and NH⁺₄). The free amino acid pool constituted only a small proportion of the total dissolved organic nitrogen (DON) pool in these soils. Here we show that these low concentrations may be due to rapid use by the soil microbial community in both Arctic and Antarctic soils. The turnover of the amino acid pool in soil was extremely rapid, with a half-life ranging from 2 to 24 h, indicating that this N pool can be turned over many hundred times each summer when polar soils are frequently unfrozen. The implications of amino acids in N cycling and plant and microbial nutrition are discussed.     

海啸破坏特点与工程防御方法初探

印度洋海啸现场调查表明,海啸灾害不同于地震和洪水灾害.海啸通过高水位淹没和浪涌冲击对海边地势低平地区的房屋、道路、桥梁、机场以及给排水、供电、通讯等设施与车辆、船只造成严重破坏.海啸上岸后,由于巨大的冲力,将夹带一些破损建筑物产生的固体漂浮物一同前进,因此破坏力更强.由于淹没、浪涌、冲毁建筑物压埋以及漂浮物冲击等综合作用,造成人员死亡率极高,所过之处,财物殆尽.抗御海啸灾害的工程措施主要在于合理规划(避让、削弱、分流、阻挡)和科学设计(潜在海啸灾害等级划分、结构性态决策、海啸荷载确定、抗海啸分析、构造设计).     

川渝地区夏季降水与赤道印度洋海温的诊断分析

利用川渝地区1960-2006年逐月降水量资料和美国NOAA Research/ESRL逐月再分析海表温度(SST)资料,采用经验正交函数分解(EOF)、点相关、合成分析和奇异值分解(SVD)等方法,详细探讨了川渝地区夏季降水量与赤道印度洋海温的关系。结果表明:川渝夏季降水量EOF分解得出的第一模态占总方差的27.8%,降水量的空间分布为全区一致型;川渝地区夏季降水量与赤道印度洋海温区域(10°N~16°S,57~77°E)(下称关键区)存在显著相关。合成分析指出关键区海温异常偏暖(冷),对应川渝地区夏季降水量比常年同期偏多(少)。通过SVD分解发现,川渝地区夏季降水量与关键区海温呈显著相关,具体表现为印度洋关键区海温与川西高原和盆地东部夏季降水量呈同位相变化,与盆地中部降水量呈反位相变化。     

中国东海至南大洋航线海洋近地层大气NOx分布特征

为了探究我国东海至南大洋航线海洋近地层大气NO_x的分布特征,于2015年11月-2016年1月,利用中国极地科学考察船"雪龙号"的观测平台,采用Saltzman法对中国东海至南大洋航线海洋近地层大气NO_x日均浓度进行了监测.结果表明,中国东海至南大洋航线海洋近地层大气ρ（NO_x）的变化范围为0.001~0.038 mg/m3,ρ（NO）的变化范围为0.001~0.033 mg/m3,ρ（NO₂）的变化范围为0（未检出）~0.015 mg/m3.中国东海至南大洋航线海洋近地层大气中,NO是NO_x的主要成分.南极圈外海洋近地层大气中NO_x的分布特征显示距离陆地越近,ρ（NO_x）越高,NO₂/NO（二者质量浓度比值）越大,反映出海陆差异及人为污染对海洋近地层大气的影响.远离陆地的南大洋航段ρ（NO_x）显示较低的大洋背景值.南桑威奇群岛的火山活动导致附近海域异常高浓度的NO_x分布,ρ（NO_x）最高值达0.160 mg/m3,ρ（NO）为0.145 mg/m3,ρ（NO₂）为0.015 mg/m3.西风带的阻隔导致该区域NO_x向周围扩散时,难以穿越西风带,向南极大陆边缘扩散的趋势更加强烈,影响大范围南大洋近地层大气NO_x分布.人为活动可能是南极半岛和中山站附近海洋近地层大气高ρ（NO_x）和高NO₂/NO的原因之一.      

Biogeochemical consequences of a changing Arctic shelf seafloor ecosystem

Unprecedented and dramatic transformations are occurring in the Arctic in response to climate change, but academic, public, and political discourse has disproportionately focussed on the most visible and direct aspects of change, including sea ice melt, permafrost thaw, the fate of charismatic megafauna, and the expansion of fisheries. Such narratives disregard the importance of less visible and indirect processes and, in particular, miss the substantive contribution of the shelf seafloor in regulating nutrients and sequestering carbon. Here, we summarise the biogeochemical functioning of the Arctic shelf seafloor before considering how climate change and regional adjustments to human activities may alter its biogeochemical and ecological dynamics, including ecosystem function, carbon burial, or nutrient recycling. We highlight the importance of the Arctic benthic system in mitigating climatic and anthropogenic change and, with a focus on the Barents Sea, offer some observations and our perspectives on future management and policy.     

Concentration of trace elements in feathers of three Antarctic penguins: Geographical and interspecific differences

Antarctica is often considered as one of the last pristine regions, but it could be affected by pollution at global and local scale. Concentrations of Al, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, As, Se, Cd and Pb were determinated by ICP-MS in feathers (n = 207 individuals) of gentoo, chinstrap and Adélie penguin collected in 8 locations throughout the Antarctic Peninsula (2006-2007). The highest levels of several elements were found in samples from King George Island (8.08, 20.29 and 1.76 μg g⁻¹ dw for Cr, Cu and Pb, respectively) and Deception Island (203.13, 3.26 and 164.26 μg g⁻¹ dw for Al, Mn and Fe, respectively), where probably human activities and large-scale transport of pollutants contribute to increase metal levels. Concentrations of Cr, Mn, Cu, Se or Pb, which are similar to others found in different regions of the world, show that some areas in Antarctica are not utterly pristine.     

Determination of Q1, an unknown organochlorine contaminant, in human milk, Antarctic air, and further environmental samples

Q1, an organochlorine component with the molecular formula C(9)H(3)Cl(7)N(2) and of unknown origin was recently identified in seal blubber samples from the Namibian coast (southwest of Africa) and the Antarctic. In these samples, Q1 was more abundant than PCBs and on the level of DDT residues. Furthermore, Q1 was more abundant in seals from the Antarctic than the Arctic. To prove this assumption, gas chromatography-electron-capture negative ion mass spectrometry (GC/ECNI-MS), which is sensitive and selective for Q1, allowed for screening of traces of Q1 even in samples with particularly high levels of other organochlorine contaminants. Q1 was isolated by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) from a skua liver sample. A 1:1 mixture with trans-nonachlor in electron-capture detectors (ECDs) was used to determine the relative response factor with ECNI-MS. The ECNI-MS response of Q1 turned out to be 4.5 times higher than that of trans-nonachlor in an ECD. With GC/ECNI-MS in the selected ion-monitoring mode, four Antarctic and four Arctic air samples were investigated for the presence of Q1. In the Antarctic air samples, Q1 levels ranged from 0.7 to 0.9 fg/m(3). In Arctic air samples, however, Q1 was below the detection limit (<0.06 fg/m(3) or 60 ag/m(3)). We also report on high Q1 levels in selected human milk samples (12-230 microg/kg lipid) and, therefore, suggested that the unknown Q1 is an environmental compound whose origin and distribution should be investigated in detail. Our data confirm that Q1 is a bioaccumulative natural organochlorine product. Detection of a highly chlorinated natural organochlorine compound in air and human milk is novel.     

从印度洋地震海啸看中国的巨灾风险

2004年12月26日印度洋海啸给沿岸国家造成了严重灾难,其主要原因是缺乏必要的防范。中国历史上巨灾频发,今后仍存在比较严重的巨灾威胁。预测我国有11个巨灾高风险区,巨灾种类主要为特大洪水、大地震、强台风和特大风暴潮以及大区域持续性严重干旱。建立巨灾防御体系是今后我国减灾工作的重心。