青蟹属的系统进化和中国沿海拟穴青蟹的群体遗传结构研究

为了进一步研究青蟹属系统进化的科学问题，并揭示我国东南沿海青蟹群体遗传结构和群体进化细节信息，本论文主要开展了以下两个方面的研究：（1）基于线粒体12S rRNA、16S rRNA和COI三种基因序列探讨中国东南沿海青蟹的种类归属与青蟹属的系统进化；（2）利用线粒体COI基因标记分析中国东南沿海拟穴青蟹的群体遗传结构。序列特征、遗传距离和系统进化分析结果都表明本文研究的青蟹均为S. paramamosain。NJ、BAYES和ML系统进化树显示S. paramamosain与S. tranquebarica互为姐妹种，S. olivecea应该是4种青蟹中最早分化出来的种类。10个地理群体130只拟穴青蟹的线粒体DNA（mitochondrial DNA，mtDNA）细胞色素氧化酶亚基I（COI）基因序列Mantel检验结果显示群体间的遗传分化程度与地理距离没有显著的相关性。分子进化中性检验结果表明自然选择在分子进化过程中起了重要作用，并暗示该物种在最近经历了一个快速的群体爆发及扩张事件。

东海内陆架泥质区EC2005孔沉积特征及古环境记录

本论文通过对东海内陆架浙闽沿岸泥质沉积带EC2005孔沉积物岩性、粒度、AMS14C测年、粘土矿物以及全岩矿物衍射分析、沉积物常微量元素和稀土元素分析、总碳氮以及有机碳氮分析、磁化率测试和综合研究，以EC2005孔岩芯记录为依据分析了研究区的沉积环境演化、海平面升降、浙闽沿岸流形成历史以及蕴含的古气候信息，探讨了陆源物质矿物、地球化学成分与粒度的关系。 EC2005孔岩芯自底部至41.00 m（17.3~13.1 ka BP）为末次冰消期以来的湖泊三角洲沉积序列，物质来源主要是来自湖盆流域物质的输入。随着海平面逐渐上升，海水自13.1 ka BP开始侵入研究区，自12.3 ka BP开始海水深度加大，沿岸流的地位开始显现，7.3 ka BP以来，形成了高海平面以来主要受沿岸流控制的浅海沉积。稀土元素结果显示，东海内陆架EC2005孔12.3~9.8 ka BP是以湖盆流域近源物质为主向长江物质为主转变的过渡阶段，自大约10~9.8 ka BP开始，由于海水深度的进一步加大、沿岸流作用进一步增强，长江物质对研究区的物质供给成为主导。海平面的升高以及沿岸流的形成是物质来源发生变化的重要原因。 东海内陆架泥质沉积物中全新世期间长达700 a（5.9~5.2 ka BP）的高分辨率细粒敏感组分资料揭示的东亚冬季风增强，与GRIP冰芯δ18O揭示的冷期具有良好的对应关系。5500 a BP前后东亚冬季风突然增强，与世界范围内的5500 a BP强降温事件非常一致。功率谱分析揭示出62 a和11 a的太阳活动周期以及与现代ENSO周期相似的6 a和5 a周期，因此，中全新世东亚冬季风演化可能是太阳活动以及古ENSO事件对全球气候系统的影响所致。 东海内陆架区对末次冰消期至早全新世气候回暖的记录与该时期世界性的广泛记录相一致，应该是轨道时间尺度上太阳辐射增强与ITCZ北移以及太阳活动变化综合影响的结果。东海内陆架浙-闽沿岸泥质带EC2005孔存在的4个百年时间尺度上快速沉积事件：12.3~12.1 ka BP、7.5~7.3 ka BP、5.9~5.2 ka BP和1.5~1.3 ka BP，与新仙女木事件、7.3 ka BP冷事件、第二新冰期（5.5 ka BP强降温事件）以及北大西洋1.4 ka BP浮冰事件均有良好的对应，世界范围内广泛存在的8.2 ka冷事件对本钻孔沉积也形成了一定影响。 EC2005孔磁化率变化受到多种因素的制约，如岩性粗细、早期成岩作用以及人类活动等的影响。近3.6 ka以来，磁化率的剧烈波动可能是由于人类活动影响造成的。东海内陆架EC2005孔TOC、TN和TOC/TN的大小主要受控于岩性变化。 此外，根据陆源物质粒度和矿物成分之间的关系，建立了陆源物质平均粒径与主要矿物成分含量大小的函数模型。地球化学成分与其所赋存单种矿物的相关性分析则进一步表明，陆源矿物种类和含量控制着地球化学成分及其含量，矿物种类和含量对地球化学成分的控制是决定性的，而粒度对元素（化学成分）的“控制”实际上是由于不同粒度的矿物组分不同而造成。

Sources and preservation of organic matter in Plum Island salt marsh sediments (MA, USA): long-chain n-alkanes and stable carbon isotope compositions

Elemental (TOC, TN, C/N) and stable carbon isotopic (delta(13)C) compositions and n-alkane (nC(16-38)) concentrations were measured for Spartina alterniflora, a C-4 marsh grass, Typha latifolia, a C-3 marsh grass, and three sediment cores collected from middle and upper estuarine sites from the Plum Island salt marshes. Our results indicated that the organic matter preserved in the sediments was highly affected by the marsh plants that dominated the sampling sites. delta(13)C values of organic matter preserved in the upper fresh water site sediment were more negative (-23.0+/-0.3) as affected by the C-3 plants than the values of organic matter preserved in the sediments of middle (-18.9+/-0.8) and mud flat sites (-19.4+/-0.1) as influenced mainly by the C4 marsh plants. The distribution of n-alkanes measured in all sediments showed similar patterns as those determined in the marsh grasses S. alterniflora and T. latifolia, and nC(21) to nC(33) long-chain n-alkanes were the major compounds determined in all sediment samples. The strong odd-to-even carbon numbered n-alkane predominance was found in all three sediments and nC(29) was the most abundant homologue in all samples measured. Both delta(13)C compositions of organic matter and n-alkane distributions in these sediments indicate that the marsh plants could contribute significant amount of organic matter preserved in Plum Island salt marsh sediments. This suggests that salt marshes play an important role in the cycling of nutrients and organic carbon in the estuary and adjacent coastal waters. (C) 2003 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Preliminary study of the dynamic origin of the distribution pattern of bottom sediments on the continental shelves of the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East China Sea

The bottom sediment types in the Bohai Sea, Yellow Sea and East China Sea (BYECS) are diversified, and their distribution pattern is very complicated. However, the bottom sediment types can be simplified to be sandy sediment, clayey sediment and mixed sediment, which comprise the complicated distribution pattern of bottom sediment in the BYECS. The continental shelves of the BYECS are broad, with shallow water depths and tidal currents which are permanent and dominate the marine dynamics in the BYECS. Based on numerical simulation of tidal elevations and currents in the BYECS, the rates of suspended load transport and bed load transport during a single tidal cycle for sediments of eight different grain size ranges are calculated. The results show that any sediment, whose threshold velocity is less than that of tidal current, has the same transport trend. Suspended load transport rare, bed load transport rate, and the ratio of the former to the latter decrease with grain size becoming coarser and coarser. The erosion/accretion patterns of sediments with different grain sizes are determined by the sediment transport rate divergences, and the results show that the patterns are the same for sediments with different grain sizes. Three main bottom sediment types, i.e. sandy sediment mainly composed of fine sand, clayey sediment mainly composed of silty clay, and mixed sediment mainly composed of fine sand, silt, and clay, are obtained by computation. The three bottom sediment types and their distribution pattern are consistent not only with sediment transport field and the sea bed erosion/accretion pattern obtained by simulation, but also with field data of bottom sediment types and divisions. In the BYECS, sand ridges form mainly in the areas with strong rectilinear tidal currents, sand sheets form mainly in the areas dominated by strong rotatory tidal currents, and clayey sediments, i.e. mud patches, form mainly in the areas with weak tidal currents. Hence, not only the sandy sediments but also the clayey sediments in the BYECS are formed under the control of the whole tidal current field of the BYECS. The three main bottom sediment types are not isolated respectively-in fact, they constitute a whole tidal depositional system. Under the condition with no cyclonic cold eddy, the clayey sediments in the BYECS can form in weak tidal current environments. Therefore, a cold eddy is not necessary for the deposition of clayey sediments in the BYECS. (C) 2000 Academic Press.

Metabolic characteristics of sea cucumber Apostichopus japonicus (Selenka) during aestivation

Metabolic characteristics of the sea cucumber Aposticholpus japonicus (Selenka) during aestivation were studied in the laboratory. The effects of water temperature on oxygen consumption rate (OCR) and ammonia-N excretion rate (AER) in A. japonicus were determined by the Winkler and Hypobromite methods, respectively. Mature (large, 148.5 +/- 15.4 g, medium 69.3 +/- 6.9 g) and immature (small, 21.2 +/- 4.7 g) individuals aestivated at water temperatures of 20 and 25 degrees C, respectively. The metabolic characteristics of mature individuals were different from immature individuals during this period. The OCR of mature sea cucumbers peaked at 20 degrees C, and then dropped significantly at higher temperatures, whereas the OCR of the immature animals continued to increase slightly, even beyond the aestivation temperature. The AER of mature individuals peaked at 20 T, while that of the immature animals peaked at 25 degrees C. The relationships between dry weight (DW) and absolute oxygen consumption (R) and absolute ammonia-N excretion (N) could be described by the regression equation R or N=aW(b). With the exception of 15 degrees C, the O/N ratios (calculated in atomic equivalents) of large size sea cucumbers was close to 20 across the temperatures used in this study, indicating that their energy Source was a combination of lipid and protein. Oil the other hand, apart from small individuals maintained at 10 degrees C, the O/N ratios of the medium and small sea Cucumbers were close to 10, indicating that protein was their major energy source. The O/N ratios in all size groups remained unchanged after aestivation was initiated. (c) 2005 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Simultaneous enumeration of diatom, protozoa and meiobenthos from marine sediments using Ludox-QPS method

The Ludox-QPS method is a newly developed technique, which combines the Ludox HS 40 density centrifugation and quantitative protargol stain, to enumerate marine ciliates with good taxonomic resolution. We tested the method for simultaneous enumeration of diatoms, protozoa and meiobenthos and compared its extraction efficiency for meiobenthos with that of the routine Ludox-TM centrifugation and a modified protocol using Ludox HS 40. We conducted the evaluation with a sample size of 8.3 ml each from sandy, muddy-sand and muddy sediments collected from the intertidal area of the Yellow Sea in summer 2006 and spring 2007. The Ludox-QPS method not only produced high extraction efficiencies of 97 +/- 1.3% for diatoms and 97.6 +/- 0.8% for ciliates, indicating a reliable enumeration for eukaryotic microbenthos, but also produced excellent extraction efficiencies of on average 97.3% for total meiobenthos, 97.9% for nematodes and 97.8% for copepods from sands, muddy sands and mud. By contrast, the routine Ludox-TM centrifugation obtained only about 74% of total meiobenthos abundance with one extraction cycle, and the modified Ludox HS 40 centrifugation yielded on average 93% of total meiobenthos: 89.4 +/- 2.0% from sands, 93 +/- 4.1% from muddy sands and 97.1 +/- 3.0% from mud. Apart from the sediment type, sample volume was another important factor affecting the extraction efficiency for meiobenthos. The extraction rate was increased to about 96.4% when using the same modified Ludox centrifugation for a 4 ml sediment sample. Besides the excellent extraction efficiency, the Ludox-QPS method obtained higher abundances of meiobenthos, in particular nematodes, than the routine Ludox centrifugation, which frequently resulted in an uncertain loss of small meiobenthos during the sieving process. Statistical analyses demonstrated that there were no significant differences between the meiobenthos communities revealed by the Ludox-QPS method and the modified Ludox HS 40 centrifugation, showing the high efficiency of the Ludox-QPS method for simultaneous enumeration of diatom, protozoa and meiobenthos. Moreover, the comparatively high taxonomic resolution of the method, especially for diatoms and ciliates, makes it feasible to investigate microbial ecology at community level.

Summertime community structure of intertidal macrobenthos in Changdao Archipelago, Shandong Province, China

The community structure of intertidal macrobenthos in Changdao Archipelago (north of Shandong Peninsula, between Bohai Bay and the northern Yellow Sea) was examined based on samples collected from 14 stations in five transects in June 2007. Three stations corresponding to high, medium and low tidal areas were set up for each transect. A total of 68 macrobenthic species were found in the research region, most of which belonged to Mollusca and Crustacea. The average abundance and biomass of the macrobenthos was 1383 ind./m(2) and 372.41 g/m(2), respectively. The use of an arbitrary similarity level of 20% resulted in identification of five groups among the 14 stations in the research region. There were remarkable differences in the biomass, abundance and Shannon-Wiener diversity index of the different sediments. Specifically, the order of biomass was rocky shores > gravel > mud-sand > coarse sand > stiff mud, while the order of abundance was rocky shores > coarse sand > mud-sand > gravel > stiff mud, and that of the diversity index was mud-sand > gravel > stiff mud > rocky shores > coarse sand. The above results revealed that the sediment type was the most important factor affecting the structure of the macrobenthic community of the intertidal zone.

Corrosion of mild steel in different granularity seabed sediment saturated with seawater

In order to investigate the corrosion of pipeline materials in Seabed Sediment (SBS) environment, weight-loss and electrochemical measurements in saturated sand and mud cells with seawater were performed for a simulation. The used electrochemical measurements included linear polarization resistance (LPR) and potentiodynamic scanning measurement. It was showed that the corrosion rate of mild steel in the present condition was lower than the corrosion rate of other marine environment corrosion zones of it; that the granularity of SBS could affect the corrosion behavior greatly; that with increasing grain size of SBS, the corrosion rate increased. Integrated over the results of the weight loss and polarization curves, the oxygen diffusion (oxygen as a depolarizant agent) mechanism was proposed and discussed.

Study on steel corrosion in different seabed sediments

A series of simulation experiments on carbon steel (A(3) steel) and low alloy steel (16 Mn steel) in marine atmosphere (MA), seawater (SW) and seabed sediment (SBS) including rough sea sand, fine sea sand and seabed mud were carried out indoors for a year or so by means of individually hanging plates (IHP) and electrically connected hanging plates (ECHP). The corrosion of steels in SBS was mainly due to the macrogalvanic cell effect. The steel plates at the bottom of SBS, as the anode of a macrogalvanic cell, showed the heaviest corrosion with a corrosion rate of up to 0.12 mm/a, approximately equal to that of steel plates in marine atmosphere. The test results showed that the corrosion rates of A(3) and 16 Mn steel in marine environment were in the order: MA > SW > SBS by the IHP method; and MA > SBS > SW by the ECHP method. The corrosion rates of steels in the water/sediment interface were directly proportional to the grain size of the SBS by the ECHP method, but those of steels in the water/sediment interface did not vary with the grain size of SBS by the IHP method. The corrosion rate of low-alloy steel was a little higher than that of carbon steel. The results of this study have important applications for design of offshore steel structures such as oil platform, pier, and port.

蠕动爬行攻泥机构转向工作特性的有限元分析

针对用于沉船打捞的水下攻泥机器人蠕动爬行攻泥机构的结构与工作机理 ,建立了适当的有限元计算模型 ,进而通过弹塑性有限元计算 ,模拟了攻泥机构处于土中不同深度的工作情况 ,建立了攻泥机构前进位移V和转向角θ之间关系的通用公式。通过它可以实现对攻泥机构前进路线的规划与自动控制

用波动方程建立蠕动爬行攻泥机器人海底土力学运动模型

针对目前国内海底蠕动爬行机器人攻打千斤洞的特点 ,在对海洋沉积土的工程性质进行分析的基础上 ,利用流变力学的理论 ,提出用波动方程来建立攻泥机器人周期性冲击土壤的力学模型 ,用后向差分法解波动方程 ,得到土壤的位移和变形公式 ,确定土壤对攻泥机的阻力 .通过对模型的仿真 ,证明了用该模型计算阻力的可行性 .

砂泥岩储层测井产能预测方法研究

Productivity prediction is very important in the exploration and development of oilfields. Using well log data to predict productivity is a front-line technology， which is key issue in petroleum exploration phase. The essential factors of productivity prediction is building practical models and correcting various causes to improve precision of prediction parameters. Any errors of parameters selections can affect the calculation of productivity prediction; therefore， how to improve research means and calculation accuracy is an important task of productivity prediction. Theory and case examples are deeply and comprehensively studied in the paper. Based on the theory of mud-filtrate invasion and experimental results， the damage of drilling， cementing， perforating，acidizing and fracturing were investigated. The damage depth was quantitatively evaluated by log data， based on this， the processing results of reservoir sensitivity were used to analysis quantitatively the damage of reservoir. The productivity prediction and reservoir damage were initiatively incorporated according to well logging， and the precision of productivity prediction was effectively improved. The method of NMR was explored to calculate the fluid viscosity on the basis of reservoir physical method， and the differences between the two methods were compared in the paper. From the theory fluid flow in porous media， various of theoretical models of production prediction were explored and several practical models were consided， such as productivity index method， improved productivity index method， improved Bearder method， SVM and so on. The characteristic and the application scope of these methods were studied. The inflow productivity and outflow productivity were incorporated and nodal analysis method was used to forecast wellhead yield， thus achieved scientifically production. On the applied background of conventional logging suite， the applying of special items or new logging method which is practical in the research area were studied， the logging suite was further optimized， and the precision of forecast was improved. On the basis of the modeling and the calculation of parameters， these methods were verified and analyzed， and the reconstruct principle was also built for block reservoir. The research block was processed by these methods and compared with testing data. Based on above the research， a technological system which is practical for shaly sand profiles in Shengli Oilfield was built. The system can reach commercialized degree，and satisfied the need of exploration and development of the oilfield.

黄骅坳陷马东地区沙河街组重力流水道储层评价及剩余油研究

In this paper, taking Madong district of Huanghua depression as a case, based on the theory of sequence stratigraphy, sedimentology, reservoir geology and geophysics, according to core analysis, seismic attribute analysis, logging constrained inversion, multi-data correlation of strata, reservoir modeling, etc. the lower and middle first member of Shahejie formation of the study area was forecasted and evaluated. As a result, a number of reservoir prediction and remaining oil distribution methods suitable to oil exploitation of gravity flow channel reservoir are presented. Scientific foundation is provided to the next adjustment of development program and exploitation of the remaining oil. According to high resolution sequence stratigraphy theory, precise stratigraphic framework was founded, the facies types and facies distribution were studied under the control of stratigraphic framework, the technologies of seismic attribute abstraction and logging constrained inversion. Result shows that gravity flow channel, as the main facies, developed in the rising period of base-level cycle, and it was formed during the phase of contemporaneous fault growth. As the channel extends, channel width was gradually widened but thickness thined. The single channels were in possession of a great variety of integrated modes, such as isolated, branching off, merging and paralleling, forming a kind of sand-mud interblending complex sedimentary units. Reservoir quality differs greatly in vertical and horizontal direction, and sedimentary microfacies is main controlling factor of the reservoir quality. In major channel, deposition thickness is great, and petrophysical property is well. While in marginal channel, reservoir is thinner, and petrophysical property is unfavorable. Structure and reservoir quality are main factors which control the oil and gas distribution in the study area. On the basis of the research about the reservoir quality, internal, planar and 3-D reservoir heterogeneities are characterized, and the reservoir quality was sorted rationally. At last, based on the research of reservoir numerical simulation of key well group, combined with reservoir performance analysis and geological analysis above, remaining oil distribution patterns controlled by internal rhythm of gravity flow channel were set up. Through this research, a facies-restrained reservoir prediction method integrating multi-information was presented, and potential orientation of remaining oil distribution in gravity flow channel reservoir is clarified.

基于弹性参数分析的碳酸盐岩储层预测方法研究

Prediction of Carbonate Reservoir Based on the Elastic Parameter Analysis Zhang Guangzhi (Solid Geophysics) Directed by Professor Liu Hong Abstract With the exploration and development of Puguang Oilfield, oil-gas exploration of carbonate rock in China has shown good prospects. Research on earthquake prediction methods for carbonate reservoir becomes the key of oil and gas exploration. Starting with analysis of geological characteristics of carbonate rock, prestack AVO inversion method, prestack elastic impedance inversion and parameter calculation method and seismic attribute extraction and optimization method were studied based on the analysis of rock physics in this work. First, variation characteristic and law of carbonate rock reservoir parameters were studied based on experimental data of rock physics, log data, analysis assay data, mud logging data and seismic data, so as to lay a foundation for the further reservoir identification and description. Then, the structure, type and propagation law of seismic wave field were analyzed through seismic forward modeling of the reservoir, and contact between information from log and geology data with elastic parameters, such as compressional wave and shear wave velocity and density were established, so as to provide a standard for reservoir identification and hydrocarbon detection using seismic reflection characteristics of the research area. Starting with the general concept of inverse problem, through analysis of Zoeppritz equation, three kinds of pre-stack inversion methods were derived and analyzed in detail, the AVO 3-parameter inversion based on Bayesian theory, the prestack AVO waveform inversion method and the simultaneous inversion method, based on the statistical hypothesis of inversion parameters and observation data and the Gauss distribution assumption of noise. The three methods were validated by model data and real data. Then, the elastic wave impedance inversion method of carbonate reservoir was investigated and the method of elastic parameter extraction from elastic impedance data was put forward. Based on the analysis of conventional methods of seismic attribute extraction and optimization, the time-frequency attributes and the wavelet attributes with time and amplitude feature were presented, and the prestack seismic attribute calculation method which can characterize the reservoir rock and fluid characteristic was presented. And the optimization of seismic attribute using the nonlinear KPCA method was also put forward. A series of seismic prediction technologies for carbonate reservoir were presented based on analysis of rock physics and seismic forward simulation technology. Practical application of these technologies was implemented in A oil field of Southern China and good effect has been achieved. Key words: carbonate rock; reservoir prediction; rock physics, prestack seismic inversion; seismic attribute

元谋盆地河湖相沉积记录的上新世印度季风转型事件

The Indian monsoon, an integral part of the global climate system, has been extensively investigated during the past decades. Most of the proxy records are derived from marine sediments and focused on time periods of the late Miocene and Pleistocene. The Pliocene represents a period when Earth’s boundary conditions underwent dramatic changes. However, variations of the Indian monsoon during the Pliocene and its forcing mechanisms have remained unclear. The Yuanmou Basin, located in the region of the Indian monsoon, provides an ideal target for understanding the Pliocene history of Indian monsoon variations. Detailed investigations on the lithostratigraphy, magnetostratigraphy and limnology of a 650-m-thick fluvio-lacustrine sedimentary sequence from the basin are carried out in the present study. The clay and clay-plus-fine-silt fractions of the sediments are referred to the midlake-facies components, and changes in the percentages of both fractions generally reflect changes in the water level of the lakes developed in the basin closely related to variations in the intensity of the Indian monsoon. Whereas the greenish-gray lacustrine mud beds represent the environment of deep-water lakes, and the frequency of individual lacustrine mud beds is considered to indicate the frequency of the deep-water lakes developed in the basin associated with the variability of the Indian monsoon. The proxy data suggest that the Indian monsoon experienced abrupt shifts at 3.53, 3.14, 2.78 and 2.42 Ma, respectivey. 1) Since 3.53 Ma, the midlake-facies components displayed a general trend of increase in the concentrations, accompanied by an increase in the sedimentation rate from an average ~10 to 25 cm ka–1. The data suggest that high stands of the lakes in the basin rose progressively, implying a gradual intensification of the Indian monsoon since that time. This shift occurred coeval with the accelerated uplift of the northern Tibetan Plateau, denoting a close link between the Indian monsoon strengthening and the Tibetan Plateau uplifting. 2) 2.78 Ma ago, the concentrations of the midlake-facies components decreased abruptly and the dominant fraction of the sediments turned to fluvial sands. The data indicate that lakes in the basin disappeared, reflecting a dramatic decline in the intensity of the Indian monsoon at that time. This shift coincided with the formation of extensive Northern Hemisphere ice sheets, implying a quick response of the low-latitude monsoon regime to the high-latitude glaciation. 3) At 3.14 Ma, the initial appearance of blackish-grey mud beds with long durations and occasional occurrences of lacustrine mud beds indicate that the basin was overall dominated by shallow lakes, implying a shift to decreased variability of the Indian monsoon at that time. At 2.42 Ma, an increase in the frequency and a decrease in the duration of the lacustrine mud beds suggest that deep-water lakes were frequently developed in the basin, denoting a shift to increased variability of the Indian monsoon at that time. The former shift coincides with the onset of large-scale glaciation in the circum Atlantic region and the latter corresponds to the inception of predominance of the 41 ka periodicity in Northern Hemisphere ice-sheet cover fluctuations, presumably suggesting a physical link between the Indian monsoon system and the high-latitude ice sheets in the Northern Hemisphere.