Polybrominated diphenyl ethers in pinnipeds stranded along the southern California coast

Little to no information exists for polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) in marine mammals frequenting the highly urbanized southern California (USA) coast. Fourteen PBDE congeners were determined by GC-ECNI-MS in blubber of pinnipeds stranded locally between 1994 and 2006. Total PBDE concentrations (∑PBDE) in California sea lion (n = 63) ranged from 0.04 to 33.7 μg/g wet weight (mean: 5.24 μg/g). To our knowledge, these are the highest reported PBDE levels in marine mammals to date. By comparison, mean ∑PBDE in Pacific harbor seals (n = 9) and northern elephant seals (n = 16) were 0.96 and 0.09 μg/g, respectively. PBDEs in adult males were higher than for adult females, however, no age class differences or temporal trends were observed. As the first PBDE data reported for marine mammals in this region, the elevated levels underscore the need for additional studies on the sources, temporal trends, and potential effects of PBDEs in highly urbanized coastal zones.     

美国西北部太平洋沿海地区植物入侵及其控制对策

美国西北部太平洋沿海地区作为美国的对外交通要塞以及自身的自然环境,因其湿润的温带海洋性气候结合人为的和自然条件的因素,造成了比较严重的植物入侵状况。本文作者结合在美国华盛顿地区做入侵植物生态环境调查和入侵植物生态环境修复工作,总结和归纳了在美国西北部太平洋地区的几种较严重的入侵植物状况及其控制对策,以便对我国生物入侵控制方法有所借鉴。     

西北太平洋热带气旋的时空分布特征分析

西北太平洋是世界上热带气旋(TC)发生频率最高、强度最强的一个海区,因此对西北太平洋TC进行气候分析是很有意义的.根据1945-2006年JTWC的数据资料对西北太平洋的热带气旋时空分布特征进行了统计分析,得到TC活动的一些最新概况.从时间分布特征上来看:TC频数呈增加趋势,有两个上升阶段,两个下降阶段;台风和强台风与TC的变化趋势大致相同,但自2000年至今有上升趋势;在季节上分布上,热带气旋,台风和强台风频数存在时间上的延迟现象.从空间分布特征来看:TC源地在0°～30°N范围内,纬向发生高频区轴线位于12.6°N,经向对应于南海海区和菲律宾以东及关岛附近洋面有两个峰值;TC强度越强,其发生高频区纬向轴线向赤道方向移动,而经向轴线向东移动;南海海区不是强台风的高发区;台风和强台风源地高频区经向轴线在145°～155°E之间移动;纬向轴线在6°～14°E之间移动,强台风的源地高频区经向轴线始终位于台风轴线的东侧,而纬向轴线位于其南侧.     

Plutonium as a chronomarker in Australian and New Zealand sediments: a comparison with Cs

The construction of high resolution chronologies of sediment profiles corresponding to the last 50-100 years usually entails the measurement of fallout radionuclides ²¹⁰Pb and ¹³⁷Cs. The anthropogenic radionuclide, ¹³⁷Cs, originating from atmospheric nuclear weapons testing can provide an important “first appearance” horizon of known age (1954-1955), providing much-needed validation for the sometimes uncertain interpretations associated with ²¹⁰Pb geochronology. However, while ¹³⁷Cs usually provides a strong signal in sediment in the northern hemisphere, total fallout of ¹³⁷Cs in the southern hemisphere was only 25% that of the north and the low activities of ¹³⁷Cs seen in Australian and New Zealand sediments can make its horizon of first appearance somewhat arguable. Low ¹³⁷Cs fallout also limited the size of the 1963-1964 fallout peak, a peak that is usually seen in northern hemisphere sediment profiles but is often difficult to discern south of the equator.This paper shows examples of the use of nuclear weapons fallout Pu as a chronomarker in sediment cores from Australia (3 sites) and New Zealand (1 site). The Pu profiles of five cores are examined and compared with the corresponding ¹³⁷Cs profiles and ²¹⁰Pb geochronologies. We find that Pu has significant advantages over ¹³⁷Cs, including greater measurement sensitivity using alpha spectrometry and mass spectrometric techniques compared to ¹³⁷Cs measurements by gamma spectrometry. Moreover, Pu provides additional chronomarkers associated with changes in the Pu isotopic composition of fallout during the 1950s and 1960s. In particular, the ²³⁸Pu/^239+240Pu activity ratio shows distinct shifts in the early 1950s and the mid to late 1960s, providing important known-age horizons in southern hemisphere sediments. For estuarine and near-shore sediments Pu sometimes has another significant advantage over ¹³⁷Cs due to its enrichment in bottom sediment relative to ¹³⁷Cs resulting from the more efficient scavenging of dissolved Pu in seawater by sediment particles.     

妈祖文化内涵及其在亚太合作发展中的重要功能

妈祖文化作为亚太地区人口众多的华裔文脉之源,对促进亚太民族间的文化交流与文化交融合作具有广泛影响力。虽然亚太各国的社会制度和经济发展存在一定的差异,但妈祖文化有望成为维系亚太地区的精神纽带,促进亚太合作发展。基于文化地理学的层次深入分析妈祖的精神文化内涵、制度文化内涵、物质文化内涵,提出了妈祖文化内涵的再认识。结合亚太合作发展现状,提出以推动亚太合作发展为最终目标,阐述妈祖文化是亚太合作发展的感情交融的纽带、转型促商的催化剂、和谐的基石和诚信的保障。     

Adaptive Capacity of Fishing Communities at Marine Protected Areas: A Case Study from the Colombian Pacific

Departing from a theoretical methodology, we estimate empirically an index of adaptive capacity (IAC) of a fishing community to the establishment of marine protected areas (MPAs). We carried out household surveys, designed to obtain information for indicators and sub-indicators, and calculated the IAC. Moreover, we performed a sensitivity analysis to check for robustness of the results. Our findings show that, despite being located between two MPAs, the fishing community of Bazán in the Colombian Pacific is highly vulnerable and that the socioeconomic dimension of the IAC constitutes the most binding dimension for building adaptive capacity. Bazán is characterized by extreme poverty, high dependence on resources, and lack of basic public infrastructure. Notwithstanding, social capital and local awareness about ecological conditions may act as enhancers of adaptive capacity. The establishment of MPAs should consider the development of strategies to confer adaptive capacity to local communities highly dependent on resource extraction.     

钚同位素法示踪中国领海核爆散落物钚的主要来源与迁移途径

使用电感耦合等离子体质谱仪,对东海及冲绳海槽沉积物、南海及邻近海域以及西北太平洋表层水中240Pu/239Pu同位素比值进行了测定,以确定中国领海核爆散落核素钚的主要来源及迁移途径。结果显示:东海及冲绳海槽沉积物中240Pu/239Pu比值分布于0.24~0.31之间,南海及邻近海域以及西北太平洋表层水240Pu/239Pu比值也处于0.22~0.24之间,都明显高于全球大气理论沉降值0.18。根据240Pu/239Pu比值及其在沉积物芯中的分布特征分析,二十世纪50年代早期美国在北太平洋马绍尔群岛进行的核爆实验,被认为是中国领海及其邻近海域除全球大气沉降外的另一重要的钚的来源。模式计算显示,东海及冲绳沉积物中约55%、中国南海及其邻近海域表层水中约40%、西北太平洋表层水中约20%的钚,来自北太平洋核爆基地。北太平洋赤道环流及其在西北太平洋的分支洋流是钚自核爆地向中国领海迁移的主要通道。     

Long-Term Relationships Between Ocean Variability and Water Resources in Northeastern Utah1

Tingstad, Abbie H. and Glen M. MacDonald, 2010. Long-Term Relationships Between Ocean Variability and Water Resources in Northeastern Utah. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(5):987-1002. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00471.x Abstract: The Uinta Mountains in the northwestern Colorado River Basin are an important source of water for Utah and the western United States. This article examines 20th Century hydrology in the Uinta Mountains region in the context of the previous four to eight centuries as well as possible relationships with Pacific and Atlantic Ocean variability using new tree-ring based reconstructions for streamflow and snowpack. The 20th Century appears to have been unusually wet compared with previous centuries. Relationships between hydrology in the region and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO), Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), and Atlantic Multidecadal Oscillation (AMO) are largely insignificant in instrumental datasets but may have been stronger, although inconsistent, over the longer time spans represented by the paleoclimate records. Impacts of individual modes of sea surface temperature variability may sometimes be enhanced by periods when climate forcing by ENSO, PDO, and/or AMO coincide. Such episodes are associated with deviations from mean hydrology as high as +14% and as low as −18%. The 20th Century could be a misleading benchmark to base water resource estimates upon and flexible water management strategies are necessary to take into account the large range of natural variability observed in the longer-term hydroclimatology as well as the challenges to predictability due to the apparently complex and inconsistent influence of ocean-driven variability.     

Remote Forest Refugia for Fijian Wildlife

Abstract:  On Pacific islands non-native rats and mongooses threaten many native species. In Fiji we compared visitation rates of rats and mongooses at bait stations and measured biomass of leaf-litter invertebrates to assess the relative predation pressure from these species in forest areas at different distances from the forest edge. Forest areas over 5 km from the forest edge had significantly fewer baits encountered by rats or mongooses than did natural forest areas nearer agricultural and urban habitats. Remote forest areas may function as a last refuge for island species threatened by predation from non-native rats and mongooses. The biomass of leaf-litter invertebrates in remote forest areas was higher, indicating a refuge effect for some taxa targeted by rats and mongooses. Protection of the few remaining large blocks of natural forests on Pacific islands may be the most cost-effective approach for conserving many island endemics threatened by rats and mongooses. Logging roads can compromise this refuge effect by acting as dispersal routes for rats into natural forests.     

VARIATION IN THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SNOWMELT RUNOFF IN OREGON AND ENSO AND PDO1

ABSTRACT: The value of using climate indices such as ENSO or PDO in water resources predictions is dependent on understanding the local relationship between these indices and streamflow over time. This study identifies long term seasonal and spatial variations in the strength of El Niño Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO) correlations with timing and magnitude of discharge in snowmelt streams in Oregon. ENSO is best correlated with variability in annual discharge, and PDO is best correlated with spring snowmelt timing and magnitude and timing of annual floods. Streams in the Cascades and Wallowa mountains show the strongest correlations, while the southernmost stream is not correlated with ENSO or PDO. ENSO correlations are weaker from 1920 to 1950 and vary significantly depending on whether Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) or Niño 3.4 is used. PDO correlations are strong from 1920 to 1950 and weak or insignificant other years. Although there are not consistent increasing or decreasing trends in annual discharge or spring snowmelt timing, there are significant increases in fractional winter runoff that are independent of precipitation, PDO, or ENSO and may indicate monotonic winter warming.