Frequent flow cutoff has a serious effect on the eco-environment of the region along the Lower Yellow River. The authors study the impact on lateral seepage quantity and groundwater cycling caused by cutoff of the Yellow River and compare it with that of the year 1999 through the numerical simulation model of groundwater flow system of the affected zone. The lateral seepage quantity decreased 53.8% on flow cutoff stage from Huayuankou to the river entrance and breaking time of 300 d. The lateral seepage quantity will decrease 46.3% if flow cutoff is from Jiahetan to the river entrance and breaking time is 300 d, and it will decrease 75.2% if flow cutoff occurs throughout the year. The lateral seepage quantity will decrease 19.8% if flow cutoff is from Luokou to the river entrance and breaking time is 300 d, and it will decrease 25.1% if flow cutoff occurs throughout the year. The lateral seepage quantity will decrease 4.7% if flow cutoff is from Lijin to the river entrance and flow cutoff occurs throughout the year. Flow cutoff of the Yellow River has a minor effect on the shape of groundwater flow domain of the affected zone. Thus, the boundary condition of the shallow groundwater system will not change. Although flow cutoff has a major influence on the riverside source fields in the Lower Yellow River, it will not have a significant effect on groundwater resources macroscopically in the affected zone of the Yellow River due to its large storage capacity.

The challenge is put forward to scientific hydrology by the advancement of water sciences; that is, how should we carry out a multidisciplinary, integrated and cooperative research on hydrological processes in the basin, regional and global scales, in order to better understand the role water plays in the changes of the natural resources and environment of the earth, and to understand the hydrosphere and its interactions with the atmosphere, lithosphere and biosphere. How the changes and transformation of the components of the water cycle and water balance occur in an inland river basin has yet to be understood. We also need to understand what the interactions of water cycle, ecosystems and environment are, and what the responses and feedback of the changes to global change and to human activities are. The water cycle in an inland river basin characterizes the runoff generation region of the mountains upstream, the artificial oases region of water resources exploitation and utilization midstream and the natural desert oases region of runoff dissipating downstream. The mountain hydrological processes are discussed from water cycle, energy balance, water balance and ecological processes. The interactions of water and vegetation are discussed in relation to ecohydrology, and the hydrological processes in the ground water-soil-vegetation layer are discussed from the concept of the critical zone newly put forward abroad. The basic frame is put forward to carry out the field measurement, experiment and studies of hydrological processes in a typical inland river basin.

Major part of the Holocene Ganges-Brahmaputra delta occupies the southern and southwestern part of Bangladesh with a smaller part extending beyond the international boundary in the west. Five facies assemblages are documented in the lower deltaic plain in five different depositional environments: levee or levee complex, bil or depression, abandoned meander belt, interdistributary plain and estuarine plain. The thickness of the Holocene sediments ranges from 30 m to 70 m in the deltaic plain, usually floored by the Pleistocene stiff clays, with the exception of the abandoned meander belt deposit where Holocene channel sand deposited directly on the Pleistocene sand. Radiocarbon dates indicate that low-rate sedimentation has occurred in the northern part, where 4–6 m thick sediments were deposited since the mid-Holocene, whereas 10–30 m thick sediments were deposited in the southern part during the same span of time. In addition, significant coastal subsidence (3 mm/a on average), added by sea-level rise (1.5 mm/a, conservative rate) occurs in the study area, which serves as a negative factor in degrading the coastal plain of Bangladesh in the future, while taking into consideration the weaker sedimentation in the area.

Based on the determination of composition of volcanic volatiles and petrologic estimation of the total mass of volatiles erupted, we showed important advances in the study of the impact of Mesozoic and Cenozoic volcanic activities on paleo-environmental changes in China. The volcanic activities include western Liaoning and Zhangjiakou Mesozoic intermediate-acidic explosive eruptions, southern Tibet and Shanwang Cenozoic volcanism, and Mt. Changbai volcanic eruption around one thousand years ago. The paper predominantly discusses the earth’s surface temperature changes, ozone depletion, acidic rain formation and mass mortalities of vertebrate induced by the Mesozoic and Cenozoic volcanism in China.

An expressway-side soil profile 22 cm long was sampled from the grassland of the expressway linking Beijing and the Capital International Airport. Magnetic measurements, geochemical and multivariate statistic analyses were performed on the soil samples. The results reveal that the soil profile can be divided into two parts with significant difference in magnetic proxies and heavy metal concentration. The uppermost soil horizon (0–8 cm) represents the pollution-rich layer with higher concentration of ferrimagnetic phases and metallic elements. The values of ? are very high with an average of 141.60 × 10^-8 m³·kg^-1 in the layer. We explain that the anthropogenic dust input from traffic is the predominant cause for strong signals of magnetic phases and heavy metals. Below the profile depth of 8 cm, there is minor pollution in the soil with lower concentration of magnetic minerals and heavy metals compared to the natural background values. ? remains quite stable and relatively low with an average of 49.44 × 10^-8 m³·kg^-1. S-ratio also generally decreases with depth, and it changes from 0.93 in the 0–8 cm layer to 0.87 below the depth of 8 cm. It indicates that the soil samples are overwhelmingly predominated by ferrimagnetic minerals in the upper part soil, while the contribution of imperfect antiferromagnetic components is stronger in the lower part. Rock magnetic experiments show MD magnetite as the main magnetic carrier both in the upper and lower parts. The magnetic grain size in the upper part is, however, a bit coarser than that in the lower part. Cluster analysis shows a positive correlation between magnetic properties (?, ARM, SIRM) and heavy metal pollutants of Pb, Zn, Cu. Fuzzy C-means cluster analysis can clearly help divide the soil profile into two different layers and distinguish their characteristics. It can be concluded that these magnetic concentration-related parameters can be used as proxies for pollution investigation in a fast, sensitive, low-cost and highly efficient approach to screening heavy metal pollution.

A unique radial tidal sand ridge system (RTSRS) has developed under a complex tidal current field on the eastern China coast between the Yangtze River delta to the south and the abandoned Yellow River (Huanghe) delta to the north. The present study examines the sedimentary evolution of a ridge-channel pair in the central RTSRS. Three cores, with two on the ridges and one in the channel, were drilled to reveal the late Pleistocene-Holocene deposits of the system. Five sedimentary facies were distinguished, i.e. ridge-shallow subtidal facies, ridge-deep subtidal facies, near-surface channel bottom facies, middle tidal flat facies and low tidal flat facies. The ridge-shallow subtidal facies consists of sandy strata with ripple cross beddings, horizontal lamina, and massive beddings. Bioturbation seldom occurs. The ridge-deep subtidal facies is primarily characterized by sandy and muddy interlayers with common flaser and lenticular bedding structures. Bioturbation appears abundantly. Massive and graded sediment sequences of storm origin are present as characterized by rich shell fragments. The near-surface channel bottom facies consists of loose, soft, clayey silt deposits with deformed sedimentary layers. This facies occurs in the deeper part of the active channels. The middle tidal flat and lower tidal flat facies composed of silt-clay couplets prevailed primarily in the tidal flats. Incomplete sedimentary successions show that coastal plain deposits dominate in the study area during 12–13 ka B.P. The sandy ridge and channel facies became dominant during 4–6 ka B.P. when the sea level receded temporarily. Tidal ridge and channel in the study area became active during the last four decades. Sediment reworking due to typhoon and sandy ridge migration plays a key role in shaping the present radial ridge system.

New Nd and Sr isotope data are presented in this paper for sediments from the Yellow and Yangtze River drainage basins. The average ¹⁴³Nd/¹⁴⁴Nd isotope compositions of fine-grained sediments from two drainage basins seem similar. The References | Related Articles | Metrics

Two vibrocores from the inner shelf off Hong Kong are investigated to compare the contents of organic and inorganic carbon in postglacial sediments. The compositions of organic elements and carbonate are highly variable in the core sediments, but overall drop within the compositional ranges of modern seabed sediments in the Zhujiang estuarine and its shelf area. The Holocene sediments in the inner shelf have never been subject to subaerial exposure and the organic matter and carbonate can be preserved well. The burial of carbon in river-dominated shelf environments is highly dependent on the river flux with time. Nevertheless, it is difficult to establish a simple relationship between carbon burial in sediments in relation to climatic changes of basin-wide scale due to complex controls of production, transport and deposition of organic matter and carbonate. Our study suggests that the organic carbon to nitrogen ratio can not reliably identify the sources of depositional organic matters because of selective decomposition of organic matter components during humification and sedimentation. Caution is therefore needed in using organic elemental compositions as indicators of organic matter sources and paleoenvironmental changes in the East Asian continental shelves where intense river-sea interaction and variable carbon flux in geologic record occur.

This paper examines the Burullus lagoon deposits of the Nile delta coast and the distribution of Pb-210 and Cs-137. Three vibrocores from the lagoon have revealed densely concentrated shell fragments of brackish water origin in the upper ( References | Related Articles | Metrics

The Sundarbans is one of the productive mangrove wetland ecosystems in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh. The delta is undergoing rapid ecological changes due to human activity. In the present study, surface water salinity data from 13 rivers of the Sundarbans were collected in order to investigate the saline water intrusion in the mangrove wetlands. Results demonstrate that saline water has penetrated the upstream area as river water salinity has increased significantly in 1976 compared to the year 1968. The soil and river water salinity data also shows that it has crossed the water salinity threshold line in most parts of the Sundarbans wetlands. These observations are due to the construction of Farakka Barrage in 1975, which reduced the water discharge of the Ganges River from 3700 m³/s in 1962 to 364 m³/s in 2006. The shortage of freshwater discharge to the deltaic area is trailing active ecosystems function, especially in the dry season in the south western region in Bangladesh. The objective of this study is to understand and analyze the present degraded mangrove wetland ecosystems and their negative impacts. The findings of this study would contribute to the formulation of the mangrove wetland ecosystems management plan in the Ganges delta of Bangladesh.

The Sundarbans is one of the productive mangrove wetland ecosystems in the Ganges-Brahmaputra delta in Bangladesh. The delta is undergoing rapid ecological changes due to human activity. In the present study, surface water salinity data from 13 rivers of the Sundarbans were collected in order to investigate the saline water intrusion in the mangrove wetlands. Results demonstrate that saline water has penetrated the upstream area as river water salinity has increased significantly in 1976 compared to the year 1968. The soil and river water salinity data also shows that it has crossed the water salinity threshold line in most parts of the Sundarbans wetlands. These observations are due to the construction of Farakka Barrage in 1975, which reduced the water discharge of the Ganges River from 3700 m³/s in 1962 to 364 m³/s in 2006. The shortage of freshwater discharge to the deltaic area is trailing active ecosystems function, especially in the dry season in the south western region in Bangladesh. The objective of this study is to understand and analyze the present degraded mangrove wetland ecosystems and their negative impacts. The findings of this study would contribute to the formulation of the mangrove wetland ecosystems management plan in the Ganges delta of Bangladesh.

A high-resolution diatom record from core MD99-2275 shows a general paleoceanographic change in the northern North Atlantic since 5000 cal. a B.P. by Principle Component Analysis. Sea surface temperature (SST) increased gradually during 5000 and 3000 cal. a B.P. on the North Icelandic shelf as a result of increasing influence of warm Atlantic water mass from the Irminger Current. It apparently started to decrease since 3000 cal. a B.P. due to the weakening influence of warm water and enhanced influence of the Polar and Arctic water masses from the East Greenland Current and the East Icelandic Current. Abrupt decreases in SST and intrusions of Polar and Arctic water superimposed on the late Holocene cooling trend during 3000–2600, 1300–1000 and 600–200 cal. a B.P.. The paleoceanographic record revealed from core MD99-2275 corresponds well with ?¹⁸O record from the GISP2 and is generally consistent with other SST records based on diatom on the North Icelandic shelf.

Time-series Mark VII sediment trap was deployed at 72°58.55′E, 62°28.63′S (north of the Prydz Bay, Antarctica) during the cruise of CHINARE-15 in cooperation with University of Marine of America. Seasonal variability of deep ocean particle fluxes and biogenic components were investigated in order to reveal the fluxes and biogeochemistry of sinking particles in the deep ocean. The results show that the total mass flux of sinking particles at a water depth of 1000 m ranges from 13.00 to 334.59 mg·d^-1·m^-2). A marked seasonal variability exists in the fluxes of all particle components reflecting the seasonal changes in upper water productivity. Biogenic material was a significant component and biogenic silica represented more than 80% of the biogenic matter, reflecting a diatom dominated system, but a lithogenic fraction is always present. The fact that the POC dominated over particulate inorganic carbon (as CaCO₃) and C_inorg/C_org was always greater than 1, indicate a net removal of CO₂ from surface water by biological activity.

Bago River is an important river in Myanmar. Although shorter than other rivers, it has its own river system, and people along the river rely heavily on it for their daily lives. The upper part of the watershed has changed rapidly from closed forest to open forest land in the 1990s. Since the recent degradation of the forest environment, annual flooding has become worse during the rainy season in Bago City. This paper aims at determining soil conservation prioritization of watershed based on soil loss due to erosion and morphometric analysis in the Bago Watershed by integrating remote sensing and geographic information system (GIS) techniques. In this study, soil erosion of the Bago watershed was determined using the Universal Soil Loss Equation. Such factor maps as rainfall, soil erodibility, slope length gradient, and crop management were compiled as input parameters for the modeling; and the soil loss from 26 sub-watersheds were estimated. Then, the soil erosion maps of the Bago watershed for 2005 were developed. The resulting Soil Loss Tolerance Map could be utilized in developing watershed management planning, forestry management planning, etc.

Wildland fire is both one of the major natural hazards and a natural process for ecosystem persistence. Accurate assessment of fire danger potential and timely detection of active fires are critical for fire fighting and fuel management. Space-borne measurements have become the primary approaches for these efforts. Many research works have been conducted and some data products have been generated for practical applications. This paper presents a review of the major sensors and algorithms for active fire monitoring and fire danger potential detection from space. Major sensors and their characteristics, physical principles of the major algorithms are summarized. Limitations of these algorithms and future improvements are also discussed.

Ultraspectral sounders provide an enormous amount of measurements to advance our knowledge of weather and climate applications. The use of robust data compression techniques will be beneficial for ultraspectral data transfer and archiving. This paper reviews the progress in lossless compression of ultraspectral sounder data. Various transform-based, prediction-based, and clustering-based compression methods are covered. Also studied is a preprocessing scheme for data reordering to improve compression gains. All the coding experiments are performed on the ultraspectral compression benchmark dataset collected from the NASA Atmospheric Infrared Sounder (AIRS) observations.