Analysis of the origin of peak aerosol optical depth in springtime over the Gulf of Tonkin

By aggregating MODIS(moderate-resolution imaging spectroradiometer) AOD(aerosol optical depth) and OMI(ozone monitoring instrument) UVAI(ultra violet aerosol index)datasets over 2010–2014, it was found that peak aerosol loading in seasonal variation occurred annually in spring over the Gulf of Tonkin(17–23°N, 105–110°E). The vertical structure of the aerosol extinction coefficient retrieved from the spaceborne lidar CALIOP(cloud-aerosol lidar with orthogonal polarization) showed that the springtime peak AOD could be attributed to an abrupt increase in aerosol loading between altitudes of 2 and 5 km.In contrast, aerosol loading in the low atmosphere(below 1 km) was only half of that in winter. Wind fields in the low and high atmosphere exhibited opposite transportation patterns in spring over the Gulf of Tonkin, implying different sources for each level. By comparing the emission inventory of anthropogenic sources with biomass burning, and analyzing the seasonal variation of the vertical structure of aerosols over the Northern Indo-China Peninsula(NIC), it was concluded that biomass burning emissions contributed to high aerosol loading in spring. The relatively high topography and the high surface temperature in spring made planetary boundary layer height greater than 3 km over NIC. In addition, small-scale cumulus convection frequently occurred, facilitating pollutant rising to over 3 km, which was a height favoring long-range transport. Thus, pollutants emitted from biomass burning over NIC in spring were raised to the high atmosphere, then experienced long-range transport, leading to the increase in aerosol loading at high altitudes over the Gulf of Tonkin during spring.     

秸秆焚烧影响南京空气质量的成因探讨

综合利用卫星遥感的火点和云覆盖信息,结合气团后向轨迹分析,探讨了由秸秆焚烧造成的空气污染物的区域尺度输送和本地源对城市空气质量的影响.结果表明,在一定气象条件下,污染物可以发生区域尺度的输送,上风火点与下风城市的污染有明显的相关,将空气污染分为局地型(如,2006年5月31日、2009年11月8日)、区域型(如,2008年10月28日),以及局地区域相结合型(如,2006年6月14日、2007年6月5日、2008年6月2日)3种.应用本文的方法,在有云时,可以通过部分火点和气团后向轨迹分析推测污染物源地.空气污染气象条件分析表明,秸秆焚烧若伴随高空(500hPa)有槽(或位于槽前),低空存在弱切变,气流由周边向中心辐合;同时,若在均压场控制下,等压线稀疏,风速较小或静风,污染物则易积聚而不易输送;逆温层的形成将污染物禁锢在混合层以下,不利于垂直扩散;再加上较大的相对湿度,有利于霾的形成,造成严重空气污染.     

The dinosaurian origin of feathers: perspectives from dolphin (Cetacea) collagen fibers

The early origin of birds is a hotly disputed debate and may be broadly framed as a conflict between paleontologists and ornithologists. The paleontological emphasis has shifted from Archaeopteryx and its origins to recent finds of Cretaceous birds and feathered dinosaurs from China. The identification of alleged feathers has, however, relied principally on the visual image. Some workers have interpreted these integumentary structures as collagen fibers. To test the latter hypothesis, using light microscopy, collagen from the hypodermis (blubber) and subdermal connective tissue sheath was examined from a dolphin that had been buried for a year as part of an experiment. Within the blubber, toward the central thicker parts of the material, the collagen fibers had compacted and the three-dimensional latticework of normal blubber had more or less collapsed. Chromatographic analysis of the blubber revealed pronounced oxidation of the unsaturated lipids, probably accounting for the collapse of the latticework. Fibers normally bound together in bundles became separated into individual fibers or smaller bundles by degradation of the glue-like substance binding them together. These degraded collagen fibers show, in many instances, feather-like patterns, strikingly reminiscent of many of those identified as either protofeathers or modern feathers in dromaeosaurid dinosaurs. The findings throw serious doubt on the virtually complete reliance on visual image by supporters of the feathered dinosaur thesis and emphasize the need for more rigorous methods of identification using modern feathers as a frame of reference. Since collagen is the main fiber type found in most supporting tissues, the results have wide implications regarding the degradation and fossilization of vertebrate integument, such as that of the ichthyosaurs, dinosaurs and birds.     

The origin of extensive colour polymorphism in Plateumaris sericea (Chrysomelidae,Coleoptera)

Evidence is presented to demonstrate that colour polymorphism in a beetle arises from structural colours produced by a five-layered reflector in the elytron. The colour of leaf beetles, Plateumaris sericea, ranges across the visible spectrum from blackish-blue to red. The elytra have two distinct layers: epicuticle and exocuticle. Morphological observations reveal that the multilayer structure within the exocuticle differs little among the different colour morphs but the layers within the epicuticle have characteristic thicknesses corresponding to the observed colour. The reflectors, consisting of five layers within the epicuticle, are responsible for all the different colours observed in P. sericea, as shown by theoretical analyses for a multilayer stack, and by showing that removal of the elytral surface, including epicuticle, results in the disappearance of the iridescent colour.     

The evolutionary origin of auditory receptors in Tettigonioidea: the complex tibial organ of Schizodactylidae

Audition in insects is of polyphyletic origin. Tympanal ears derived from proprioceptive or vibratory receptor organs, but many questions of the evolution of insect auditory systems are still open. Despite the rather typical bauplan of the insect body, e.g., with a fixed number of segments, tympanal ears evolved at very different places, but only ensiferans have ears at the foreleg tibia, located in the tibial organ. The homology and monophyly of ensiferan ears is controversial, and no precursor organ was unambiguously identified for auditory receptors. The latter can only be identified by comparative study of recent atympanate taxa. These atympanate taxa are poorly investigated. In this paper, we report the neuroanatomy of the tibial organ of Comicus calcaris (Irish 1986), an atympanate Schizodactylid (splay-footed cricket). This representative of a Gondwana relict group has a tripartite sensory organ, homologous to tettigoniid ears. A comparison with morphology-based cladistic phylogeny indicates that the tripartite neuronal organization present in the majority of Tettigonioidea presumably preceded evolution of a hearing sense in the Tettigonioidea. Furthermore, the absence of a tripartite organ in Grylloidea argues against a monophyletic origin and homology of the cricket and katydid ears. The tracheal attachment of sensory neurons typical for ears of Tettigonioidea is present in C. calcaris and may have facilitated cooption for auditory function. The functional auditory organ was presumably formed in evolution by successive non-neural modifications of trachea and tympana. This first investigation of the neuroanatomy of Schizodactylidae suggests a non-auditory chordotonal organ as the precursor for auditory receptors of related tympanate taxa and adds evidence for the phylogenetic position of the group.     

北京地区大气气溶胶光学厚度的观测和分析

利用中国科学院大气物理研究所研制的中分辨率太阳-天光光谱自动观测系统(MORSAS)于北京对太阳直射光谱和天空散射光谱进行准连续观测,其中无云情况(包括晴天和浑浊天气)下的观测资料用于获取大气气溶胶光学厚度.该仪器与一台美国NASA主持的国际气溶胶观测网仪器CIMEL CE-318太阳光度计进行对比观测,二者所得结果一致性较好.作者给出了近3年北京地区大气气溶胶光学厚度和表征粒子谱宽度的Angstrom指数(a)的变化情况.与20世纪90年代中期相比,近3年北京秋冬季气溶胶光学厚度有所减小,表明北京的环境治理有一定成效;而春季气溶胶光学厚度则在近2年有明显增加,源自沙尘天气,且Angstrom指数亦变小,表明大粒子比例增加,因此需要加强对沙尘源的治理.     

一次严重灰霾过程的气溶胶光学特性垂直分布

利用激光雷达在广州地区一次严重灰霾过程进行探测,并反演气溶胶消光系数及退偏比,分析边界层结构演变对气溶胶消光系数廓线分布的影响.结果表明,气溶胶主要在1.5km以下.发生灰霾天气时,霾层达到1km,午后可达1.5km,发生严重灰霾天气时,霾层只有500m.气溶胶消光系数随高度分布在清洁过程中呈线性递减,标高为1490m,在灰霾过程中呈指数递减,标高为789.5m.从气溶胶消光系数廓线变化可以很好地反演边界层结构的演变.气溶胶消光系数在残留层顶出现极大值.气溶胶退偏比有明显的日变化,白天的退偏比比夜间的高,午后出现峰值.该次过程气溶胶的退偏比小于0.2.本地气溶胶廓线只有在清洁过程时与Elterman廓线接近.     

鹤山气溶胶光学性质和单颗粒化学组分的研究

2014年10~11月在广东省鹤山大气超级站利用单颗粒气溶胶质谱仪（SPAMS）、积分式浊度仪和黑碳仪在线观测了单颗粒气溶胶的化学组成与气溶胶光学特征.采用Art-2a分类法将单颗粒分为9类：有机碳-硫酸盐/硝酸盐颗粒（OC-Sulfate/Nitrate）、元素碳-硫酸盐/硝酸盐颗粒（EC-Sulfate/Nitrate）、元素碳有机碳-硫酸盐/硝酸盐颗粒（ECOC-Sulfate/Nitrate）、高分子有机碳颗粒（HOC）、海盐颗粒（Sea-salt）、硅酸盐颗粒（Si-rich）、左旋葡聚糖颗粒（Lev）、钾-硫酸盐/硝酸盐颗粒（K-Sulfate/Nitrate）、金属颗粒（Metal）.从清洁期到灰霾期气溶胶的吸收系数、散射系数和单次散射反照率（SSA）显著升高,气溶胶消光能力增强,同时EC-Sulfate/Nitrate颗粒占比从34.8%降至31%,OC-Sulfate/Nitrate颗粒从9.9%增加至23.6%,K-Sulfate/Nitrate二次颗粒从8.5%增加至14%,且灰霾期OC-Sulfate/Nitrate颗粒与硫酸盐、硝酸盐和铵盐的混合程度增强,因此老化的OC-Sulfate/Nitrate颗粒和二次组分颗粒对气溶胶消光系数的增加有重要贡献.在大气相对湿度从50%增加到70%以上的过程中,气溶胶散射系数和吸收系数升高,消光系数由326.1Mm^-1增加到362.9Mm^-1,SSA有所下降,PM_2.5质量消光效率由4.98增加到5.99,EC-Sulfate/Nitrate颗粒和K-Sulfate/Nitrate二次颗粒占比下降,而OC-Sulfate/Nitrate颗粒的占比由7.79%增加到14.29%,且OC-Sulfate/Nitrate颗粒中富含硫酸盐、硝酸盐和铵盐,表明高相对湿度下老化的OC-Sulfate/Nitrate颗粒数目增多对气溶胶消光系数的增强有重要影响.