Distribution of heavy metals in the dissolved and suspended phase of the sea-surface microlayer, seawater column and in sediments of Singapore’s coastal environment

Concentrations of heavy metals were determined in the water column (including the sea-surface microlayer, subsurface, mid-depth and bottom water) and sediments from Singapore’s coastal environment. The concentration ranges for As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in the seawater dissolved phase (DP) were 0.34–2.04, 0.013–0.109, 0.07–0.35, 0.23–1.16, 0.28–0.78, 0.009–0.062 and 0.97–3.66 μg L⁻¹ respectively. The ranges for Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn in the suspended particulate matter (SPM) were 0.16–0.73, 6.72–53.93, 12.87–118.29, 4.34–60.71, 1.10–6.08 and 43.09–370.49 μg g⁻¹, respectively. Heavy metal concentrations in sediments ranged between 0.054–0.217, 37.48–50.52, 6.30–21.01, 13.27–26.59, 24.14–37.28 and 48.20–62.36 μg g⁻¹ for Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb and Zn, respectively. The lowest concentrations of metals in the DP and SPM were most frequently found in the subsurface water while the highest concentrations were mostly observed in the SML and bottom water. Overall, heavy metals in both the dissolved and particulate fractions have depth profiles that show a decreasing trend of concentrations from the subsurface to the bottom water, indicating that the prevalence of metals is linked to the marine biological cycle. In comparison to data from Greece, Malaysia and USA, the levels of metals in the DP are considered to be low in Singapore. Higher concentrations of particulate metals were reported for the Northern Adriatic Sea and the Rhine/Meuse estuary in the Netherlands compared to values reported in this study. The marine sediments in Singapore are not heavily contaminated when compared to metal levels in marine sediments from other countries such as Thailand, Japan, Korea, Spain and China.     

Differences in urban and rural accident characteristics and medical service utilization for traffic fatalities in less-motorized societies

Introduction

Fatalities from traffic accidents in less-motorized societies are an important global issue. We aimed to characterize the geographic differences of fatalities in such societies to facilitate the development of targeted interventions.

Method

This study linked police reports, hospital data, and vital registration data from Taiwan with special reference to accident factors in pre-hospital deaths and medical care in hospital deaths.

Results

A higher percentage of pre-hospital deaths were observed following rural as compared to urban traffic accidents. The deaths due to rural accidents can be attributed to lower use of restraints (i.e., helmets or seat belts), lower percentage of motorcyclists, and more highway accidents. A higher percentage of victims in rural accidents were transported to distant medical centers rather than to local hospitals.

Conclusion

Specific interventions, such as intelligent emergency medical systems, campaigns for helmets and seat belt usage, enforcement of helmets and seat belt use, and speed control measures should be targeted to rural areas.

Impact on industry

Cooperation between the vehicle industry and emergency medical providers in rural traffic accident rescue teams may decrease the numbers of deaths in these regions.     

中国东南部中生代陆内岩浆作用的动力学背景

根据叠置在华夏和扬子陆块的中生代岩浆岩的时代、岩石系列和岩石组合以及Sr、Nd同位素特征，分析中生代岩浆作用特提斯陆内俯冲和碰撞—古太平洋俯冲走滑的动力学背景。在230－150Ma间，特提斯构造域的影响是华北与扬子陆块的水平碰撞缩短，华夏西南部是离散陆块的陆内俯冲，其结果在华夏陆块形成大规模高Isr低εNd（t）的S型花岗岩。145－90Ma间，在特提斯构造域深部构造效应的基础上叠加了古太平洋的俯冲走滑，结果在中下扬子区形成高钾富碱钙碱性系列和橄榄安粗岩系列火山一侵入杂岩，在华夏陆块形成高钾钙碱性系列和双峰式火山—侵入杂岩。两陆块内A型花岗岩类的形成（＜92Ma），标志中生代陆内造山岩浆作用的结束。     

中国东南部古构造格局与中生代岩浆活动的成因联系雏议

本文以构造沉积学资料为依据,论述了中国东南部的古构造格局及构造演化,并根据基底构造格局和板块运动方式,提出了中国东南部中生代岩浆活动与大陆碰撞有内在联系的成因机制论,并认为岩浆活动的时空演化及岩浆系列与板块碰撞的方式和时序密切相关.     

东南沿海基底杂岩的同位素年代学研究

系统研究同位素年龄结果表明,中国东南中生代火山岩盖层下普遍存在着前寒武系古老地层,变质杂岩最大年龄约为1900Ma,属早元古界晚期——中元古界早期。双溪坞组“底部”的英安质霏细斑岩的年龄,与上墅组的同位素年龄接近。象山石浦的硅质岩“天窗时代”应属震旦系地层,可与“灯影灰岩”对比。同位素年龄还揭示,华南地区有加里东旋回和印支旋回热事件的信息。基底杂岩的Nd同位素表明,前加里东期变质岩,大多数属大洋火山——硅质建造。它们表现出大的富集因子,和高的~(143)Nd/~(144)Nd.因此,不能说凡是有古老基底杂岩存在,就与克拉通或古陆等同。在中国东南板块内基底杂岩大多数在加里东造山褶皱期之前都处于活动“地槽”期,真正形成大陆地壳是在加里东期之后。Nd同位素资料还证明,不同微板块构造区地幔表现出明显的不均一性。     

Optimal Management of a Multispecies Shorebird Flyway under Sea‐Level Rise

Every year, millions of migratory shorebirds fly through the East Asian–Australasian Flyway between their arctic breeding grounds and Australasia. This flyway includes numerous coastal wetlands in Asia and the Pacific that are used as stopover sites where birds rest and feed. Loss of a few important stopover sites through sea‐level rise (SLR) could cause sudden population declines. We formulated and solved mathematically the problem of how to identify the most important stopover sites to minimize losses of bird populations across flyways by conserving land that facilitates upshore shifts of tidal flats in response to SLR. To guide conservation investment that minimizes losses of migratory bird populations during migration, we developed a spatially explicit flyway model coupled with a maximum flow algorithm. Migratory routes of 10 shorebird taxa were modeled in a graph theoretic framework by representing clusters of important wetlands as nodes and the number of birds flying between 2 nodes as edges. We also evaluated several resource allocation algorithms that required only partial information on flyway connectivity (node strategy, based on the impacts of SLR at nodes; habitat strategy, based on habitat change at sites; population strategy, based on population change at sites; and random investment). The resource allocation algorithms based on flyway information performed on average 15% better than simpler allocations based on patterns of habitat loss or local bird counts. The Yellow Sea region stood out as the most important priority for effective conservation of migratory shorebirds, but investment in this area alone will not ensure the persistence of species across the flyway. The spatial distribution of conservation investments differed enormously according to the severity of SLR and whether information about flyway connectivity was used to guide the prioritizations. With the rapid ongoing loss of coastal wetlands globally, our method provides insight into efficient conservation planning for migratory species. Gestión Óptima de una Ruta Migratoria de Múltiples Especies de Aves Costeras Sometida a Incremento del Nivel del Mar     

Indicators of urban climate resilience: A contextual approach

As urban populations grow and climate exposure increases, more cities are introducing formal planning processes to adapt to climate change. This paper explains the process applied to eight cities in the Asian Cities Climate Change Resilience Network (ACCCRN) for developing indicators for planning and monitoring local climate resilience. This process relied on transferring a common conceptual framework for climate resilience, together with a locally led iterative and collaborative process that engaged technical and planning authorities and vulnerable groups. The process varied slightly between cities and generated indicators that were chosen for their contextual fit and availability of data. The main benefit of developing resilience indicators in this way was the local capacity that the process built, in terms of understanding resilience, shared understanding of concepts and measurement and establishment of a common platform for future planning and monitoring of climate adaptation interventions at the city level.     

Institutions,policies and soil degradation: theoretical examinations and case studies in Southeast China

Abstract

Southeast China is one of the severe soil degradation areas in China. This paper theoretically examines the impact of some important institutional arrangements and policies, like land management pattern, the rural off-farm employment, land property change and changes in prices of agricultural products, on soil degradation in this area. It further conducts some case studies to confirm the potential relationship between the institutions & policies and soil degradation, applying the surveyed and the second hand data. The paper at last makes some conclusions and proposes some suggestions on how to promote soil conservation by improving the ways of policy decision-making and the effects of policies on land use.     

韩江流域河水地球化学特征与硅酸盐岩风化——风化过程硫酸作用

流域岩石化学风化是全球碳循环的重要环节之一,硅酸盐岩风化过程消耗大气CO_2,是在地质时间尺度上调节大气CO_2浓度的重要机制。本工作在对我国东南花岗岩地区流经典型的硅酸盐岩地质背景河流——韩江流域河流水化学组成研究的基础上,分析和定量计算了河流水体主要物质来源,并对硫酸参与岩石风化和碳循环过程的作用进行了分析,进而对韩江流域岩石风化速率及其大气CO_2消耗通量进行了估算。结果表明,韩江流域河流主离子组成主要来源于硅酸盐岩和碳酸盐岩风化,并计算得出约41%的硫酸根离子来自于大气降水;流域碳酸盐岩的风化速率为21.7 t/(km~2·a),硅酸盐岩为18.9 t/(km~2·a)。硫酸参与岩石风化提供的离子贡献占流域岩石风化提供总离子量的65.9%;流域风化带来的CO_2消耗速率被高估了约61%。     

1980—2014年中亚地区植被净初级生产力对气候和CO2变化的响应

中亚干旱区分布着世界80%以上的温带荒漠,受气候变化影响显著。论文首先收集实验观测数据验证了干旱区生态系统模型（AEM）,然后运用AEM开展数值模拟实验量化研究了1980—2014年中亚净初级生产力（NPP）的时空格局,评估了不同环境因子（降水、温度、CO₂）的相对贡献率及其交互效应。结果表明：过去35 a中亚干旱区年均NPP总量为1 125±129 Tg C（1 T=10¹²）或218±25 g C/m²。哈萨克斯坦北部地区年NPP值较高（349±39 g C/m²）,而南疆地区年NPP值较低（123±45 g C/m²）。1980—2014年间,中亚NPP总体呈减少趋势 [-0.71 g C/(m²·a)],南疆极端干旱区的NPP降低最为显著 [-2.05 g C/(m²·a)]。相较于1980—1984年NPP均值,在1985—2014年中亚区域NPP总体降低了118 Tg（-10%）。其中CO₂施肥效应促进NPP增加了99.7 Tg （+8%）,气温升高的正效应促进NPP增加了35.4 Tg（+2%）,而降水减少导致NPP降低了221 Tg（-18%）。研究区内9%的地区的NPP主要控制因子为温度,主要分布在天山和哈萨克斯坦北部等高纬高寒地区。降水主控区面积占整个研究区的69%,主要分布在荒漠平原特别是南疆等植被受水分限制的区域。CO₂主控区占研究区面积的20%,主要分布在天山中山带森林区和低海拔地区等水热条件好的区域。研究表明新疆南部地区是中亚的关键生态脆弱区,其生态安全面临着气候变化的挑战,但21世纪的升温不大可能因刺激自养呼吸而对中亚区域NPP造成显著影响。