Otolith characteristics and age determination of an endemic Ptychobarbus dipogon (Regan, 1905) (Cyprinidae: Schizothoracinae) in the Yarlung Tsangpo River, Tibet

We describe the microincrements, checks and annuli in the lapilli of the schizothoracine Ptychobarbus dipogon, an endemic species of the Tibetan plateau. We collected samples in the Yarlung Tsangpo River and its tributaries on a monthly basis (from April 2004 to August 2006). We describe the shape features of the three pairs of otoliths and document the full trajectory of lapillus development. We found that five to seven checks were clearly visible in the opaque zone of the first annulus. The pattern of 21-23 daily growth increments within each check might be explained as a lunar-induced deposition. We counted between 137 and 154 increments within the first annulus. Annuli appeared as a sequence of gradually declining increment widths, whereas false rings were characterized by abrupt checks. Our oldest estimates were 23(+)years for males and 44(+) for females. The time of annulus completion was clearly between March and April each year using monthly marginal increments analysis. We consider the factors responsible for daily increment formation as an endogenous circadian rhythm. Environmental information, such as strong sunlight and cold water temperatures in the Tibetan Plateau, could reinforce the endogenous daily cycle. Our results provided important data addressing the ecology and population dynamics of P. dipogon.

Digital regionalization of geomorphology in Xinjiang

National Natural Science Foundation of China [40871177]; Project of State Key Lab of Resources and Environmental Information System [088RA304SA]; CAS Knowledge Innovation Project

Emergy Assessment of a Wheat-Maize Rotation System with Different Water Assignments in the North China Plain

Sustainable water use is seriously compromised in the North China Plain (NCP) due to the huge water requirements of agriculture, the largest use of water resources. An integrated approach which combines the ecosystem model with emergy analysis is presented to determine the optimum quantity of irrigation for sustainable development in irrigated cropping systems. Since the traditional emergy method pays little attention to the dynamic interaction among components of the ecological system and dynamic emergy accounting is in its infancy, it is hard to evaluate the cropping system in hypothetical situations or in response to specific changes. In order to solve this problem, an ecosystem model (Vegetation Interface Processes (VIP) model) is introduced for emergy analysis to describe the production processes. Some raw data, collected by investigating or observing in conventional emergy analysis, may be calculated by the VIP model in the new approach. To demonstrate the advantage of this new approach, we use it to assess the wheat-maize rotation cropping system at different irrigation levels and derive the optimum quantity of irrigation according to the index of ecosystem sustainable development in NCP. The results show, the optimum quantity of irrigation in this region should be 240-330 mm per year in the wheat system and no irrigation in the maize system, because with this quantity of irrigation the rotation crop system reveals: best efficiency in energy transformation (transformity = 6.05E + 4 sej/J); highest sustainability (renewability = 25%); lowest environmental impact (environmental loading ratio = 3.5) and the greatest sustainability index (Emergy Sustainability Index = 0.47) compared with the system in other irrigation amounts. This study demonstrates that application of the new approach is broader than the conventional emergy analysis and the new approach is helpful in optimizing resources allocation, resource-savings and maintaining agricultural sustainability.

Spatial distribution of soil heavy metal pollution estimated by different interpolation methods: Accuracy and uncertainty analysis

Mapping the spatial distribution of contaminants in soils is the basis of pollution evaluation and risk control. Interpolation methods are extensively applied in the mapping processes to estimate the heavy metal concentrations at unsampled sites. The performances of interpolation methods (inverse distance weighting, local polynomial, ordinary kriging and radial basis functions) were assessed and compared using the root mean square error for cross validation. The results indicated that all interpolation methods provided a high prediction accuracy of the mean concentration of soil heavy metals. However, the classic method based on percentages of polluted samples, gave a pollution area 23.54-41.92% larger than that estimated by interpolation methods. The difference in contaminated area estimation among the four methods reached 6.14%. According to the interpolation results, the spatial uncertainty of polluted areas was mainly located in three types of region: (a) the local maxima concentration region surrounded by low concentration (clean) sites, (b) the local minima concentration region surrounded with highly polluted samples; and (c) the boundaries of the contaminated areas. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

ROV模糊控制导航方法

本文提出一种水下 ROV(Remotely Operated Vehicles)的模糊导航方法和基于该方法的控制器结构 .通常由于水下环境光照不足或是水质混浊 ,很难依赖摄像机准确地为 ROV导航 ,引导 ROV到达预定目标 ,尤其是工作空间存在障碍物时 ,ROV很可能发生碰撞 .文中提出的模糊控制方法 ,将 ROV在 3D空间运动的状态、局部环境信息以及导航规划数据表示为多重模糊条件 ,然后结合 ROV的导航特点 ,建立了一个三级模糊控制器 ,该控制器使用同一种控制模式完成 ROV有障碍和无障碍的导航任务 .仿真实验结果验证了所提出方法的有效性

远程自治水下机器人三维实时避障方法研究

海洋环境通常是不确定、非结构化和未知的 ,而远程AUV(LAUV)的避障声纳对环境感知有一定的局限 ,因此很难建立起精确、完整和统一的三维环境模型 .LAUV实时避障是一个实时性很强的动态过程 ,它不但与环境有关 ,而且还与LAUV的运动学约束、动力学特性和操纵性有关 .针对上述问题本文提出了一种基于复合控制的三维实时模糊避障方法

塔里木盆地历史时期的自然环境演变

Exploit Tarim Basin Historical Physical Geographic Information System by linking historical documents and Geographic Information System, reconstruct the physical environmental evolution in Tarirn Basin during historical period (the last 2 Ka), special discuss riverhead of the Yellow River and Lop Nur. Based on analyzing Chinese historical documents (antiquity maps and texts), extract physical environmental information in Xiyu during historical period from Twenty-Five History and geographic books and records past dynasties, divide it into 4 period of time. Regarding digital topographical maps as base maps and looking on water bodies, vegetation and desert as central factors, quantify historical physical geographic data in Geographic Information System in terms of dynastic combination of Xianqin-Han, Jin-Wei-Nanbeichao, Tang-Wudai and Song-Yuan-Ming-Qing, execute physical environmental maps of Xiyu through the ages, in order to image the changes of water system, oasis and desert in Xiyu during the last 2 Ka. Compare cross orientation the relation of environmental factors all historical period of time from the influence of climate to oasis and desert, deem that climate condition decided ecological structure in direct and restrict the extent of desertification, especially climate corresponded the style of oasis and the spread of desert in the period of Jin-Wei-Nanbeichao and Tang-Wudai. Compare portrait direction the physical environmental characters in Xiyu during different period of time from 5 aspects of water bodies, oasis, desert, products and climate, deem that physical environment in Xiyu changed in all aspects during historical period. The origin of Lysenkoism about the Yellow River Undercurrent is agelong, whose ascending and descending at times due to investigating the riverhead of the Yellow River time after time during historical period and researching and disputing about the geographic location of Jishishan Mountain. It could consider the faultage in northeastern Qinghai-Xizang Plateau as the channels of undercurrent according to the research of modern geoscience field in the riverhead region.

提取湖泊碳酸盐碳同位素环境信息的理论模式的辨识不同源碳酸盐的实验技术

作者通过对淡水、分层、富营养湖泊光合作用对水体碳同位素组成影响的系统分析，对争论长达20年的， 湖水上层碳源问题从理论上和实测资料上绘出了一个有说服力的解释模式－“生物泵模式”。利用这种模式，有效地解释了大量预测到以前不能很好被说明的实测数据。作者提出和建立了辨识湖泊的同源碳酸盐的实验方法和实验交流。通过理论和实测数据的分解，说明了该实验系统的可行性和有效性。利用这种技术，提高了对碳酸盐同位系环境信息的分辨能力。

Genetic diversity of plankton community as depicted by PCR-DGGE fingerprinting and its relation to morphological composition and environmental factors in lake donghu

To collect information about the genetic diversity of the plankton community and to study how plankton respond to environmental conditions, plankton samples were collected from five stations representing different trophic levels in a shallow, eutrophic lake (Lake Donghu), and investigated by PCR-DGGE fingerprinting. A total of 100 bands (61 of 16S rDNA bands and 39 of 18S rDNA bands) were detected. The DGGE bands unique to any single station accounted for 38% of the total bands, whereas common bands detected at all five stations accounted for only 11%. Using UPGMA clustering and MDS ordination of DGGE fingerprints, stations I and II were found to initially group together into one cluster, which was later joined by station V. Stations III and IV were isolated into two separate groups of one station each. Some differences in grouping relationships were found when analysis was completed on the basis of chemical characteristics and morphological composition, with zooplankton composition showing the greatest variability. However, the most similar stations (I and II) were always initially grouped into one cluster. Moreover, stations that exhibited the same or similar trophic level (stations III and IV), but different concentrations of heavy metals, were further differentiated by the DGGE method. Results of the present study indicated that PCR-DGGE fingerprinting was more sensitive than the traditional methods, as other studies suggested. Additionally, PCR-DGGE appears to be more appropriate for diversity characterization of the plankton community, as it is more canonical, systematic, and effective. Most importantly, fingerprinting results are more convenient for the comparative analyses between different studies. Therefore, the use of the described fingerprinting analysis may provide an operable and sensitive biomonitoring approach to identify critical, and potentially negative, stress within an aquatic ecosystem.

Quantitative relationships between molecular structures, environmental temperatures and octanol-air partition coefficients of PCDD/Fs

A concise quantitative model that incorporates information on both environmental temperature M and molecular structures, for logarithm of octanol-air partition coefficient (K-OA) to base 10 (logK(OA)) of PCDDs, was developed. Partial least squares (PLS) analysis together with 14 quantum chemical descriptors were used to develop the quantitative relationships between structures, environmental temperatures and properties (QRSETP) model. It has been validated that the obtained QRSETP model can be used to predict logK(OA) of other PCDDs. Molecular size, environmental temperature (T), q(+) (the most positive net atomic charge on hydrogen or chlorine atoms in PCDD molecules) and E-LUMO (the energy of the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital) are main factors governing logK(OA) of PCDD/Fs under study. The intermolecular dispersive interactions and thus the size of the molecules play a leading role in governing logK(OA). The more chlorines in PCDD molecules, the greater the logK(OA) values. Increasing E-LUMO values of the molecules leads to decreasing logK(OA) values, implying possible intermolecular interactions between the molecules under study and octanol molecules. Greater q(+) values results in greater intermolecular electrostatic repulsive interactions between PCDD and octanol molecules and smaller logK(OA) values. (C) 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.