Thermal Ionization Mass Spectrometry (TIMS)-U-Series Ages of Corals from the South China Sea and Holocene High Sea Level

Coral samples collected from the waters off the Leizhou Peninsula, the Hainan Island and the Yongxing Island of the Xisha Islands were analyzed by thermal ionization mass spectrometry (TIMS) and multi-collector inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (MC-ICP-MS) for their U-Th systematics. Their uranium contents are mostly lower than 3μg/g, and the δ+{234}U(T) values are within the range of 150±5. X-ray diffraction analysis showed that the corals are all composed of aragonite. This demonstrates that the corals determined have maintained a close system for 7000 years and their skeletons bear much information about the primitive tropical marine environment. The highly precise age sequence of the corals determined has revealed that there occurred three phases of high sea level in the South China Sea waters, which are dated at 6799-6307 a B.P., 4472-4285 a B.P. and 1279-1012 a B.P., respectively. The three phases lasted 492 a, 187 a and 267 a, respectively. These three phases of high sea level are corresponding to the warm environments that had appeared in China during the Megathermal Period and the Medieval Warm Period in the past ten thousand years.

Mechanical Properties of Sea Water Sea Sand Coral Concrete Modified with Different Cement and Fiber Types

The mechanical properties of modified sea water sea sand coral concrete(SWSSCC)under axial compression were experimentally studied.Two different parameters were considered in this test:types of cement and fiber.An experimental campaign was developed involving uniaxial compression tests and the use of digital image correlation(DIC)method to analyze the strain distribution and crack propagation of specimen.Test results indicated that the compressive strength and elastic modulus of SWSSCC were improved by adding stainless steel fibers(SSF),while polypropylene fibers(PF)enhanced the SWSSCC peak deformation.It was found that the elastic modulus and strength of SWSSCC using ordinary Portland cement(OPC)were higher compared to specimen with low alkalinity sulphoaluminate cement(LAS).Typical strain distribution changed with the variation of fiber types.The propagation and characteristics of cracks in SWSSCC containing PF were similar to those of cracks in SWSSCC.However,the propagation of cracks and the development of plastic deformation in SWSSCC were effectively hindered by adopting SSF.Finally,an analytical stress-strain expression of specimen considering the influences of fibers was established.The obtained results would provide a basis for the application of SWSSCC.

Spatial and Temporal Variability of Thermal Stress to China's Coral Reefs in South China Sea

Coral bleaching, caused by elevated sea surface temperature(SST), is occurring more frequently and seriously worldwide. Due to the lack of field observations, we understand little about the large-scale variability of thermal stress in the South China Sea(SCS) and its effect on China's coral reefs. This paper used 4-km high resolution gap-filled SST(Filled SST) data and thermal stress data related to coral bleaching derived from Coral Reef Temperature Anomaly Database(Co RTAD) to quantify the spatial and temporal characteristics of chronic thermal stress and acute thermal stress to China's coral reefs in SCS from 1982 to 2009. We analyzed the trend of SST in summer and the thermal stress frequency, intensity and duration during this period. The results indicate that, as a chronic thermal stress, summer mean SST in SCS shows an average upward trend of 0.2℃/decade and the spatial pattern is heterogeneous. Waters of Xisha Islands and Dongsha Islands of the northern SCS are warming faster through time compared to Zhongsha Islands and Nansha Islands sea areas of the southern SCS. High frequency bleaching related thermal stress events for these reefs are seen in the area to the northwest of Luzon Island. Severe anomaly thermal stress events are more likely to occur during the subsequent year of the El Nino year for these coral reefs. Besides, the duration of thermal stress varies considerably by anomaly year and by region.

ESR DATING OF CORAL REEFS IN THE SOUTH CHINA SEA

ESR dating of aragonitic and calcitic corals , eolianite , calcrete , and corallineae from coral reefs in the South China Sea was applied to study of Quaternary reef geology . The ESR ages of calcitic corals correlated with the biostratigraphy , lithostratigraphy and geochemistry of Well Xi-Chen-1 and the oxygen-isotope stratigraphy of deep sea sediments, were reliable and up to 1.26 Ma. The selection of signals for dating and other related problems are discussed .

Diversity of symbiotic algae of the genus Symbiodinium in scleractinian corals of the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea

Symbiotic algae （Symbiodinium sp.） in scleractinian corals are important in understanding how coral reefs will respond to global climate change. The present paper reports on the diversity of Symbiodinium sp. in 48 scleractinian coral species from 25 genera and 10 families sampled from the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea, which were identified with the use of restriction fragment length polymorphism （RFLP） of the nuclear ribosomal DNA large subunit gene （rDNA）. The results showed that： （i） Symbiodinium Clade C was the dominant zooxanthellae in scleractinian corals in the Xisha Islands; （ii） Symbiodinium Clade D was found in the corals Montipora aequituberculata, Galaxea fascicularis, and Plerogyra sinuosa; and （iii） both Symbiodinium Clades C and D were found simultaneously in Montipora digitata, Psammocora contigua, and Galaxeafascicularis. A poor capacity for symbiosis polymorphism, as uncovered by RFLP, in the Xisha Islands indicates that the scleractinian corals have low adaptability to environmental changes. Further studies are needed to investigate zooxanthellae diversity using other molecular markers.

Trace metal anomalies in bleached Porites coral at Meiji Reef, tropical South China Sea

Coral bleaching has generally been recognized as the main reason for tropical coral reef degradation, but there are few long-term records of coral bleaching events. In this study, trace metals including chromium(Cr), copper(Cu), molybdenum(Mo), manganese(Mn), lead(Pb), tin(Sn), titanium(Ti), vanadium(V), and yttrium(Y), were analyzed in two Porites corals collected from Meiji Reef in the tropical South China Sea(SCS) to assess differences in trace metal concentrations in bleached compared with unbleached coral growth bands. Ti, V, Cr, and Mo generally showed irregular fluctuations in both corals. Bleached layers contained high concentrations of Mn, Cu, Sn, and Pb. Unbleached layers showed moderately high concentrations of Mn and Cu only. The different distribution of trace metals in Porites may be attributable to different selectivity on the basis of vital utility or toxicity. Ti, V, Cr, and Mo are discriminated against by both coral polyps and zooxanthellae, but Mn, Cu, Sn, and Pb are accumulated by zooxanthellae and only Mn and Cu are accumulated by polyps as essential elements. The marked increase in Cu, Mn, Pb, and Sn are associated with bleaching processes, including mucus secretion, tissue retraction, and zooxanthellae expulsion and occlusion. Variation in these trace elements within the coral skeleton can be used as potential tracers of short-lived bleaching events.

Cloudiness regime shift during 1946—1992 recorded by coral in the South China Sea

By extracting and comparing long-term trend components of coral gray value, sea surface temperature, cloudiness, and net heat flux for the period of 1946-1992, the relationships among them are addressed. There exists a prominent regime shift in the cloudiness associated with the corresponding variabilities of sea surface temperature and net heat flux occurred in the mid-1960s, which can be successfully recorded by coral gray value, a climatic proxy. Long-term cloudiness variations in the South China Sea are completely opposite to the equatorial western Pacific in the past five decades, whereas they share a similar trend to that over Asian monsoon prevailing waters. The fact that the coral gray value is highly correlated to cloudiness provides a unique perspective on utilizing this coral to study cloudiness variations in the pre-instrumental period.

Remote sensing expert system of South China Sea coral reefs

Based on the remote sensing information and related condition such as geology, geomorphology, hydrology and meteorology, a remote sensing expert system of the South China Sea coral reefs is developed by using a new remote sensing twin-tree structure. The object is recognized and the type of coral reef is distinguished through the combined utilization of spectrum and image primitive's spatial relation and related information.

The Effects of Meteorological Factors Anomalies on Oceanic Coral Reef Systems in the Northwestern South China Sea

Climate warming, variation of East Asian atmospheric system have affected the Chinese offshore environment through the air-sea interaction, the coastal waters of South China Sea had been influenced, leading a corresponding impact on the coral reef growth. This paper reports on coral coverage and dominant coral species changes in Xu wen National Coral Reef Nature Reserve, examines their relationship with meteorological factors anomalies recorded by satellite. The study reveals that: compared to the period from 1979 to 2003, the temperature of surface coastal water dropped significantly in South China Sea in 2004-2008, the divergence of low layer of atmosphere over it strengthened, produced a zonal westerly anomaly field, which had an opposite direction to the local northeastern trade wind. The increasing of suspended matter in water, the decreasing of down welling in northwestern South China Sea, made the water quality deteriorating, water transparency decreased significantly, coral reef survival environment worsened, which would cause adverse effects on coral reef building capacity in the Reserve. Continued monitoring efforts are necessary to further assess the relationship between coral building capacity and in situ meteorological factors anomalies and improve the use of the dataset in future regional degradation predictions.

ESR and U-series ages of coral reef samples from shallow drill holes in the South China Sea

The ages of coral reef samples from several shallow drill holes in the South China Sea are determined by ESR and U-series (230Th/234U) methods. The experimental results show ideal agreement between ESR and U-series ages and that the coral reefs were formed in the early Holocene. In the determination of natural total dose of coral reef by use of the additive dose method good results can be obtained by exponential fitting, no matter how the effect of dose saturation is. It was found that the ratio of the natural ESR signal intensity ( I0) to the ESR signal intensity at dose saturation ( Imax) of sample can reflect the significance of a irradiation efficiency-k value. Using the k value of sample determined by the formula given in this paper, the precision of ESR dating of marine carbonates can be improved.

Effect of Tourism Activities on Coral Communities at the Gulf of Suez, Red Sea

Although the rapidly expanding tourism industry is considered an extremely important economic activity, it caused increasing pressure on coral reefs of Egypt. Damage occurs from both direct and indirect impacts of tourism activities on coral communities. The Gulf of Suez has increasing of resorts from 8 at 2000 to 31 at 2014. This affected the coral communities along the area of study leads to a decrease in coral areas from 960 m2 at 2000 to 750 m2 at 2014, number of coral species from 21 species at 2000 to only 14 species at 2014, percentage cover of life coral from 46.4% at 2000 to 10.6% at 2014;on contrary, dead coral increased from 23.8% to 47.9% at the same period. This accompanied with an increase in the percentage of the algal cover from 8.6% at 2000 to 19.4% at 2014. The statistical analysis revealed a high correlation between the increased tourism activities and the coral status variables measured during the study. The data obtained showed high significant positive and negative correlation between the different variables that determined according to the effect of the different variables on each other and the relation between them. The simple linear regression statistical analyses showed a significant effect of tourism activities on the coral status, the analyses indicated that each increase in number of resorts by one resort leads to significant decrease in total coral area at the site by 0.9%, the analysis also showed that 80% of that decrease referred to the effect of tourism activities and 20% referred to other reasons. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) divided the recoded coral species into three categories, the first is soft corals which recorded significant increase in percentage cover from 2000 to 2014, the second is three species that recorded insignificant difference during the period of study, while the third category include most of the recorded species and they showed significant decrease in their percentage cover along time of study. The data obtained illustrated that all the investigated coral parameters are affected by the increasing tourism activities.

Deterioration of Early Holocene coral reef due to sea level rise along west coast of India:Benthic foraminiferal testimony

A total of 103 surface sediment samples collected from the water depth range of 15-3300 m along Vijaydurg-Karwar stretch of central west coast of India were analyzed for foraminiferal content. Relict benthic foraminiferal assemblage was noted within 50--135 m water depth. The relict benthic foraminiferal assemblage that includes Amphistegina, Operculina and Alveolinella in sediment samples within the water depth of 85-- 135 m indicates presence of coral reef at this depth during Early Holocene. The presence of barnacle fouling on Relict foraminifera at 60--90 m confirms the paleo-shoreline. The shallow depth zone is characterized by presence of agglutinated relict foraminifera. The agglutinated forms indicate freshwater influx, which eventually increased the sea level and subsequently deteriorated the paleo-coral reef.

高温后珊瑚海水海砂混凝土力学性能试验研究

为研究高温后珊瑚海水海砂混凝土(CSSC)的力学性能,设计制作了30个CSSC试件,进行常温与高温后轴心受压和静力受压弹性模量试验。通过试验观察了试件高温后的表观变化和轴心受压破坏形态,获取了轴心受压全过程应力—应变曲线、弹性模量及烧失率等参数,深入高温后CSSC微观结构变化机制,得到了受火温度对CSSC力学性能的影响规律,揭示了高温作用后CSSC的力学性能退化机理。结果表明:随着受火温度的增加,CSSC力学性能不断劣化。T=200℃时CSSC轴心抗压强度和弹性模量分别比常温时下降了26.52%,6.19%,混凝土具有较好的力学性能;T=400℃时CSSC弹性模量下降迅速,弹性模量损失率为65.48%,但与T=200℃相比混凝土轴心抗压强度上升了6.4%;T=600℃时CSSC轴心抗压强度下降迅速,强度损失率为66.74%;T=800℃时CSSC破坏严重,已无法测得有效的弹性模量。

Resilience of a high latitude Red Sea corals to extreme temperature

Our research objective was to expand the very limited knowledgebase pertaining to the ecology of fringing coral reefs in the Gulf of Suez, Egypt. Specifically, determine dominant coral species and investigate why this reef is capable of surviving at such a high-latitude and extreme harsh environment. Data collection included annual reef surveys, randomized quadrat sampling, five permanent video transects and in situ seawater temperature. Of the known Gulf of Suez 35 taxa, only six (Acropora humilis, A. microclados, A. hemprichii, Litophyton arboretum, Stylophora pistillata, Porites columna, and P. plantulata), compose 94% of the reef's coral cover. Coral dominance across species shifted drastically during the study period. However, the six coral dominance remained unchanged, while some decreased others increased. These six coral taxa regularly experience daily changes in seawater temperature and seasonal variations that exceed These extreme temperatures variation and the fact that only six coral taxa dominance remained unchanged, suggest that these corals may have developed a mechanism to cope with extreme seawater temperatures as evidenced by their continued growth and survival over the study period. We speculate that species dominance shift occurred largely as a result of a local oil spill rather than exposure to extreme temperatures. Further scrutiny of these species and the mechanisms by which they are able to thrive is recommended, as they hold the potential to benefit other coral communities as a resilient transplant species and model for understanding coral survivability in extreme environmental conditions.

塔西南阿尔塔什剖面下石炭统和什拉甫组生物礁地质特征

生物礁研究对沉积环境与油气勘探具有重要意义,但目前对于塔西南石炭系生物礁研究相对较少。深入解析了塔西南阿尔塔什剖面早石炭世维宪期中-晚期和什拉甫组生物礁地质特征,并在此基础上深入探讨了塔西南早石炭世沉积环境以及该生物礁在全球早石炭世生物礁演化中的意义。结果表明:该套生物礁的造礁生物主要为各种群体珊瑚以及少量单体珊瑚,附礁生物主要为棘皮动物等,造礁和附礁生物类型相对单一。礁体的生长受陆源物质的影响而中断,这和塔西南山前早石炭世频繁的海平面变化有关。该生物礁是继晚泥盆世生物大灭绝后,伴随着维宪期中-晚期气候变暖、全球海平面上升,全球范围内后生动物骨架礁开始复苏的产物之一,该生物礁的地质特征在全球早石炭世维宪期生物礁中具有普遍性。此外,根据对阿尔塔什剖面和什拉甫组以及相邻的库山河剖面罕铁热克组的整体沉积相分析,推测早石炭世维宪期,受当时全球海平面上升的影响以及塔西南地区在早石炭世开始形成被动大陆边缘并开始下沉,使得塔西南地区从早石炭世开始发生自南西向北东方向的海侵,在塔西南山前也逐渐形成了狭长的台地边缘相带,这有利于生物礁的发育,并在和什拉甫组时期自陆向海形成了“滨岸相-泻湖相-台地边缘相-斜坡相-陆棚相”的沉积体系。沉积体系的划分不仅可以为塔西南地区石炭纪古气候、古环境研究而且可以为其油气勘探提供参考。

珊瑚混凝土改性技术研究

为解决陆地资源紧缺等问题,与普通混凝土力学性能相近的珊瑚混凝土成为近年来研究的新型材料,随着对珊瑚混凝土不断深入研究,发现在其制备过程中存在很多的缺陷,如珊瑚石的自身强度低、抗渗性能差、易遭受海水中氯盐的侵蚀、与钢筋的粘结程度低等,因此对国内外已有的珊瑚混凝土改性处理技术的研究成果进行了归纳,此外还总结出当前对珊瑚材料作用机理的局限性以及对珊瑚混凝土改性处理方法、动态力学性能的研究存在的不足,为后续研究提供参考。

CFRP-PVC管约束珊瑚海水海砂混凝土柱轴压性能试验研究及有限元分析

为研究碳纤维增强聚合物-聚氯乙烯复合管(CFRP-PVC)约束珊瑚海水海砂混凝土(CSSC)柱的轴心受压性能,对6个试件进行轴心受压加载试验和有限元参数分析,重点研究了PVC管内、外表面CFRP层数和脱空缺陷对该组合柱轴压性能的影响。结果表明,CFRP-PVC管可以有效约束CSSC,使其处于三轴受压状态,当内、外壁均粘贴CFRP时可以有效减缓突然破坏的特征。相同情况下,管内壁粘贴1层CFRP时具有更好的延性和承载力,管外壁粘贴2层CFRP时约束应力提高系数高达121.5%,脱空缺陷仅对延性有显著影响。基于ABAQUS软件建立了CFRP-PVC约束CSSC柱有限元模型,准确还原了组合柱在轴向荷载作用下的破坏过程和CFRP损伤形态。当组合柱套箍系数小于0.3或长径比大于14.54时,荷载-位移曲线会失去强化段,提高外层CFRP层数会小幅提高强化段刚度。提出了适用于CFRP-PVC约束CSSC的承载力计算方法,误差为1.2%。

南海北部珊瑚群落结构特征及其对海洋热浪事件的响应

全球变暖背景下,造礁石珊瑚大规模白化的频度和强度日益加大,其生存也面临严峻的危机。南海北部海域被认为是气候变暖背景下我国造礁石珊瑚生存的避难所。综合分析该海域珊瑚群落的空间格局、历史演变及其对夏季高温的响应,有利于深入认识我国造礁石珊瑚的适应性及相应的保护与养护。本研究于2020年夏季对大亚湾、涠洲岛、徐闻和三亚鹿回头的珊瑚礁/珊瑚群落开展了较为全面的生态调查,并追踪了2020年海洋热浪的效应。结果显示,珊瑚群落的优势种组成、物种数量和α多样性指数呈现明显的区域差异,活珊瑚覆盖度在三亚鹿回头和大亚湾相对更高(分别为37.78%和17.97%);珊瑚白化率和白化死亡率在徐闻海域最高(84.78%和10.68%),其次是涠洲岛海域(65.52%和0.70%),大亚湾和三亚鹿回头海域均未监测到珊瑚白化。结合历史数据分析表明,南海北部海域珊瑚群落的活珊瑚覆盖度自1980年代以来发生大幅度下降,但近年来趋于稳定并呈现出恢复的态势;珊瑚群落结构演变上整体呈现出热耐受型物种和热中度适应型物种占比增加(大亚湾除外)的趋势。总体而言,目前南海北部海域的珊瑚群落对海洋热浪具有一定的抵抗能力,加强珊瑚礁区的保护和管理对于促进珊瑚群落的恢复和热敏感珊瑚物种避难所潜力的发挥至关重要。

南海北部涠洲岛边缘珊瑚礁的生物侵蚀实验研究

在全球变化背景下,边缘珊瑚礁面临着来自自然与人类的双重压力。海水富营养化引起的生物侵蚀加剧,虽然较为隐蔽,但却会对珊瑚群落的发育以及礁格架的稳定性产生不良影响,是边缘珊瑚礁潜在的危害之一。本研究在南海北部涠洲岛三个典型的边缘珊瑚礁开展了近一年的原位侵蚀实验,定量分析了珊瑚礁的生物侵蚀强度与侵蚀速率,并结合卫星遥感监测的水体环境参数,探究了珊瑚礁侵蚀与海水环境的关系。研究发现,内部大型侵蚀生物的侵蚀速率相比侵蚀强度更能够指示海水富营养盐与高浊度环境,而侵蚀强度能够体现侵蚀生物的群落演替阶段。此外,将涠洲岛生物侵蚀速率数据与全球其他典型珊瑚礁区域进行对比,发现涠洲岛生物侵蚀速率处于全球中等水平(以内部大型侵蚀生物为主导),但在其所属的“人为边缘礁”类型中为较低水平。结合气候变化、城市化发展、礁体健康状况等趋势以及本研究结果,推测涠洲岛的生物侵蚀可能会继续加强,达到“人为边缘礁”的高侵蚀水平,并进一步加剧珊瑚礁的退化。

南海长棘海星物种有效性探讨

南海长棘海星暴发已严重威胁到该海域珊瑚礁生态系统健康,乃至整个南海生物多样性。针对南海长棘海星拉丁学名混用、中文名不统一的现状,我们采集了中沙群岛济猛暗沙海域长棘海星样品,结合长棘海星此前物种分类和分布的研究结果,对南海长棘海星物种有效性进行探讨。结果表明:所有长棘海星序列明显分为4个类群,各类群间遗传距离范围为0.087 5~0.104 7,达到了种间差异水平。南海长棘海星与长棘海星的太平洋种聚类到一起,实为太阳长棘海星(Acanthaster solaris),与其余3个种存在明显的种间差异。太阳长棘海星中2个支系间的遗传距离为0.005 3,在COⅠ基因层面属于种内差异。南海长棘海星物种有效性的研究结果为后续开展其遗传特征与适应性机制、种群分布与扩散机制、种群暴发机制等内容的研究提供科学依据。