Sea-level history of past interglacial periods from uranium-series dating of corals,Curaçao,Leeward Antilles islands     

Daniel R. Muhs  John M. Pandolfi  Kathleen R. Simmons  R. Randall Schumann 《Quaternary Research》2012,78(2):157-169

Curaçao has reef terraces with the potential to provide sea-level histories of interglacial periods. Ages of the Hato (upper) unit of the “Lower Terrace” indicate that this reef dates to the last interglacial period, Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 5.5. On Curaçao, this high sea stand lasted at least 8000 yr (~ 126 to ~ 118 ka). Elevations and age of this reef show that late Quaternary uplift rates on Curaçao are low, 0.026–0.054 m/ka, consistent with its tectonic setting. Ages of ~ 200 ka for corals from the older Cortalein unit of the Lower Terrace correlate this reef to MIS 7, with paleo-sea level estimates ranging from ? 3.3 m to + 2.3 m. The estimates are in agreement with those for MIS 7 made from other localities and indicate that the penultimate interglacial period was a time of significant warmth, on a par with the present interglacial period. The ~ 400 ka (MIS 11) Middle Terrace I on Curaçao, dated by others, may have formed from a paleo-sea level of + 8.3 to + 10.0 m, or (less likely) + 17 m to + 20 m. The lower estimates are conservative compared to previous studies, but still require major ice sheet loss from Greenland and Antarctica.  相似文献   

Vulnerability indicators of sea water intrusion   总被引：5，自引：0，他引：5  

Werner AD  Ward JD  Morgan LK  Simmons CT  Robinson NI  Teubner MD 《Ground water》2012,50(1):48-58

In this paper, simple indicators of the propensity for sea water intrusion (SWI) to occur (referred to as "SWI vulnerability indicators") are devised. The analysis is based on an existing analytical solution for the steady-state position of a sharp fresh water-salt water interface. Interface characteristics, that is, the wedge toe location and sea water volume, are used in quantifying SWI in both confined and unconfined aquifers. Rates-of-change (partial derivatives of the analytical solution) in the wedge toe or sea water volume are used to quantify the aquifer vulnerability to various stress situations, including (1) sea-level rise; (2) change in recharge (e.g., due to climate change); and (3) change in seaward discharge. A selection of coastal aquifer cases is used to apply the SWI vulnerability indicators, and the proposed methodology produces interpretations of SWI vulnerability that are broadly consistent with more comprehensive investigations. Several inferences regarding SWI vulnerability arise from the analysis, including: (1) sea-level rise impacts are more extensive in aquifers with head-controlled rather than flux-controlled inland boundaries, whereas the opposite is true for recharge change impacts; (2) sea-level rise does not induce SWI in constant-discharge confined aquifers; (3) SWI vulnerability varies depending on the causal factor, and therefore vulnerability composites are needed that differentiate vulnerability to such threats as sea-level rise, climate change, and changes in seaward groundwater discharge. We contend that the approach is an improvement over existing methods for characterizing SWI vulnerability, because the method has theoretical underpinnings and yet calculations are simple, although the coastal aquifer conceptualization is highly idealized.  相似文献   

Photometric redshifts in the SWIRE Survey     

Michael Rowan-Robinson  Tom Babbedge  Seb Oliver  Markos Trichas  Stefano Berta  Carol Lonsdale  Gene Smith  David Shupe  Jason Surace  Stephane Arnouts  Olivier Ilbert  Olivier Le Févre  Alejandro Afonso-Luis  Ismael Perez-Fournon  Evanthia Hatziminaoglou  Mari Polletta  Duncan Farrah  Mattia Vaccari 《Monthly notices of the Royal Astronomical Society》2008,386(2):697-714

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Antibiotics in the Hong Kong metropolitan area: Ubiquitous distribution and fate in Victoria Harbour   总被引：7，自引：0，他引：7  

Tu Binh Minh  I. Ha Loi  Man Ka So  David Choi  Gene Zheng  Joseph H.W. Lee  Bruce J. Richardson 《Marine pollution bulletin》2009,58(7):1052-5312

We investigated the presence and fate of 16 antibiotics belonging to seven groups (β-lactams, fluoroquinolones, macrolides, sulfonamides, tetracyclines, trimethoprim and amphenicols) in effluents of sewage plants and receiving waters in Hong Kong. Cefalexin, amoxicillin, ofloxacin and erythromycin-H₂O were ubiquitous in sea water throughout Victoria Harbour, indicating continuous discharge to the environment. This is one of the few studies reporting the frequent occurrence of cefalexin and amoxicillin in sewage effluents and sea water (170-5070 and 64-1670 ng/L in sewage; 6.1-493 and 0.64-76 ng/L in sea water, respectively). Mass flows from seven sewage plants discharged an estimated total of 14.4 kg/day to the Harbour. Typhoon shelters also appeared to play an important role as sources of antibiotics, as evidenced by elevated concentrations within their boundaries. Mass balance estimations suggested significant quantities of antibiotics are discharged to the Harbour without passage through treatment plants.  相似文献   

Using MODFLOW 2000 to model ET and recharge for shallow ground water problems     

Doble RC  Simmons CT  Walker GR 《Ground water》2009,47(1):129-135

In environments with shallow ground water elevation, small changes in the water table can cause significant variations in recharge and evapotranspiration fluxes. Particularly, where ground water is close to the soil surface, both recharge and evapotranspiration are regulated by a thin unsaturated zone and, for accuracy, must be represented using nonconstant and often nonlinear relationships. The most commonly used ground water flow model today, MODFLOW, was originally designed with a modular structure with independent packages representing recharge and evaporation processes. Systems with shallow ground water, however, may be better represented using either a recharge function that varies with ground water depth or a continuous recharge and evapotranspiration function that is dependent on depth to water table. In situations where the boundaries between recharging and nonrecharging cells change with time, such as near a seepage zone, a continuous ground water flux relationship allows recharge rates to change with depth rather than having to calculate them at each stress period. This research article describes the modification of the MODFLOW 2000 recharge and segmented evapotranspiration packages into a continuous recharge-discharge function that allows ground water flux to be represented as a continuous process, dependent on head. The modifications were then used to model long-term recharge and evapotranspiration processes on a saline, semiarid floodplain in order to understand spatial patterns of salinization, and an overview of this process is given.  相似文献   

Impact of Sea-Level Rise on Sea Water Intrusion in Coastal Aquifers   总被引：17，自引：0，他引：17  

by Adrian D. Werner  and Craig T. Simmons 《Ground water》2009,47(2):197-204

Despite its purported importance, previous studies of the influence of sea-level rise on coastal aquifers have focused on specific sites, and a generalized systematic analysis of the general case of the sea water intrusion response to sea-level rise has not been reported. In this study, a simple conceptual framework is used to provide a first-order assessment of sea water intrusion changes in coastal unconfined aquifers in response to sea-level rise. Two conceptual models are tested: (1) flux-controlled systems, in which ground water discharge to the sea is persistent despite changes in sea level, and (2) head-controlled systems, whereby ground water abstractions or surface features maintain the head condition in the aquifer despite sea-level changes. The conceptualization assumes steady-state conditions, a sharp interface sea water-fresh water transition zone, homogeneous and isotropic aquifer properties, and constant recharge. In the case of constant flux conditions, the upper limit for sea water intrusion due to sea-level rise (up to 1.5 m is tested) is no greater than 50 m for typical values of recharge, hydraulic conductivity, and aquifer depth. This is in striking contrast to the constant head cases, in which the magnitude of salt water toe migration is on the order of hundreds of meters to several kilometers for the same sea-level rise. This study has highlighted the importance of inland boundary conditions on the sea-level rise impact. It identifies combinations of hydrogeologic parameters that control whether large or small salt water toe migration will occur for any given change in a hydrogeologic variable.  相似文献   

Absencing/presencing risk: Rethinking proximity and the experience of living with major technological hazards     

Karen Bickerstaff  Peter Simmons 《Geoforum》2009,40(5):864-872

There is now a substantial body of sociocultural research that has investigated the ways in which specific communities living in physical proximity with a variety of polluting or hazardous technological installations experience and respond to their exposure to the associated risk. Much of this research has sought to understand the apparent acceptance or acquiescence displayed by local populations towards established hazards of the kind that are typically resisted when the subject of siting proposals. However, recent theoretical contributions, produced largely outside the field of risk research, have problematised the objective distinction between proximity and distance. In this paper we explore the potential of some of these ideas for furthering our understanding of the relationship between place and the constitution of risk subjectivities. To do this we re-examine a number of existing sociocultural studies that are predicated on a localised approach and conceptualise the relationship of physically proximate sources of risk to everyday experience in terms of practices of ‘presencing’ and ‘absencing’. We conclude with some thoughts on the methodological and substantive implications of this reworking of proximity for future research into risk subjectivities.  相似文献   

Modeling Surface Water-Groundwater Interaction with MODFLOW: Some Considerations     

Philip Brunner  Craig T. Simmons  Peter G. Cook  René Therrien 《Ground water》2010,48(2):174-180

The accuracy with which MODFLOW simulates surface water-groundwater interaction is examined for connected and disconnected losing streams. We compare the effect of different vertical and horizontal discretization within MODFLOW and also compare MODFLOW simulations with those produced by HydroGeoSphere. HydroGeoSphere is able to simulate both saturated and unsaturated flow, as well as surface water, groundwater and the full coupling between them in a physical way, and so is used as a reference code to quantify the influence of some of the simplifying assumptions of MODFLOW. In particular, we show that (1) the inability to simulate negative pressures beneath disconnected streams in MODFLOW results in an underestimation of the infiltration flux; (2) a river in MODFLOW is either fully connected or fully disconnected, while in reality transitional stages between the two flow regimes exist; (3) limitations in the horizontal discretization of the river can cause a mismatch between river width and cell width, resulting in an error in the water table position under the river; and (4) because coarse vertical discretization of the aquifer is often used to avoid the drying out of cells, this may result in an error in simulating the height of the groundwater mound. Conditions under which these errors are significant are investigated.  相似文献   

Use of the clam Asaphis deflorata as a potential indicator of organochlorine bioaccumulation in Hong Kong coastal sediments     

Moganti S  Richardson BJ  McClellan K  Martin M  Lam PK  Zheng GJ 《Marine pollution bulletin》2008,57(6-12):672-680

In order to test its ability as a bioaccumulator, the deposit feeding clam Asaphis deflorata, collected from a clean coastal area in Hong Kong (Ding Chau, Ma On Shan), was exposed to field-collected sediments representing a gradient of contamination. Sediments were collected from four sites, namely Shek O in the southeast of Hong Kong Island, Ap Lei Chau in Aberdeen district, Tai Kok Tsui in the Mong Kok waterfront, and To Kwa Wan near Kowloon City pier. Shek O was the cleanest and To Kwa Wan was the most polluted site. Replicate 30L fiberglass tanks containing equal numbers of organisms were maintained for 28 days, with equal quantities of sediment and filtered seawater. Prior to this the animals were depurated for 10 days in clean sediment. During the 28-day holding period, sampling of both sediment and clams was performed on days 0, 10 and 28, along with condition index measurements. Concentrations of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in sediments showed that Shek O was the cleanest of the sites, followed by Ap Lei Chau, Tai Kok Tsui and To Kwa Wan. There were marked differences among the sites, especially in PAH concentrations, with To Kwa Wan showing extremely high sediment concentrations. Following exposure, the biota concentrations of various organochlorine pesticides and PCBs suggested that there was sediment concentration-dependent accumulation by A. deflorata on day 10 of the experiment. However, there was no significant increase on day 28 for any of the compounds tested. Contaminant concentrations in clams feeding on Shek O sediments were minimal and almost the same on all sampling days, indicating the presence of only baseline contaminant concentrations. The condition indices (CI) of the clams on various sampling days showed that the animals were relatively more stable in sediment from Shek O. There were some deaths in all the test tanks (including those containing Shek O sediments). In addition, clams appeared to bury faster in the cleaner Shek O sediment and remained buried, unlike those in the sediment from the other locations, where some remained predominantly on the surface. Nevertheless, despite not completely burying, the clams in other test sediments still exhibited sediment concentration-dependent tissue accumulation. The results of the investigation indicate the possibility of developing a standard test protocol for bioaccumulation by sediment dwelling invertebrates, for practical use in Hong Kong, using A. deflorata.  相似文献   

Use of the clam Asaphis deflorata as a potential indicator of organochlorine bioaccumulation in Hong Kong coastal sediments     

Shanti Moganti  Bruce J. Richardson  Katherine McClellan  Michael Martin  Paul K.S. Lam  Gene J. Zheng 《Marine pollution bulletin》2008,57(6-12):672

In order to test its ability as a bioaccumulator, the deposit feeding clam Asaphis deflorata, collected from a clean coastal area in Hong Kong (Ding Chau, Ma On Shan), was exposed to field-collected sediments representing a gradient of contamination. Sediments were collected from four sites, namely Shek O in the southeast of Hong Kong Island, Ap Lei Chau in Aberdeen district, Tai Kok Tsui in the Mong Kok waterfront, and To Kwa Wan near Kowloon City pier. Shek O was the cleanest and To Kwa Wan was the most polluted site. Replicate 30 L fiberglass tanks containing equal numbers of organisms were maintained for 28 days, with equal quantities of sediment and filtered seawater. Prior to this the animals were depurated for 10 days in clean sediment. During the 28-day holding period, sampling of both sediment and clams was performed on days 0, 10 and 28, along with condition index measurements. Concentrations of organochlorine pesticides and PCBs in sediments showed that Shek O was the cleanest of the sites, followed by Ap Lei Chau, Tai Kok Tsui and To Kwa Wan. There were marked differences among the sites, especially in PAH concentrations, with To Kwa Wan showing extremely high sediment concentrations.Following exposure, the biota concentrations of various organochlorine pesticides and PCBs suggested that there was sediment concentration-dependent accumulation by A. deflorata on day 10 of the experiment. However, there was no significant increase on day 28 for any of the compounds tested. Contaminant concentrations in clams feeding on Shek O sediments were minimal and almost the same on all sampling days, indicating the presence of only baseline contaminant concentrations. The condition indices (CI) of the clams on various sampling days showed that the animals were relatively more stable in sediment from Shek O. There were some deaths in all the test tanks (including those containing Shek O sediments). In addition, clams appeared to bury faster in the cleaner Shek O sediment and remained buried, unlike those in the sediment from the other locations, where some remained predominantly on the surface. Nevertheless, despite not completely burying, the clams in other test sediments still exhibited sediment concentration-dependent tissue accumulation. The results of the investigation indicate the possibility of developing a standard test protocol for bioaccumulation by sediment dwelling invertebrates, for practical use in Hong Kong, using A. deflorata.  相似文献