Changes of nutrient concentrations and N:P:Si ratios and their possible impacts on the Huanghai Sea ecosystem

To investigate the impacts of nutrient concentrations and N：P：Si ratios on the ecosystem of the Huanghai Sea （Yellow Sea）, the current status and long-term variation of nutrients concentrations and ratios as well as phytoplankton community structure in the Huanghai Sea were collected and analyzed. The results reveal great annual and seasonal fluctuations in the nutrient concentrations and N：P：Si ratios during 1998-2008 with no clear pattern observed in the whole region. Yet on a seasonal scale of spring and in the coastal regions such as the Jiaozhou Bay and Sanggou Bay, the increase of DIN concentration and N：P ratio as well as the decrease of phosphate and sili- cate concentrations and Si：N ratios were relatively significant. Many pelagic ecosystem changes have occurred concurrent with these changes of the nutrient regime, such as the recent increase of primary production, changes of phytoplankton chlorophyll a biomass and abundance, an increase of eutrophication, and occurrence of HABs. In addition, new trends in the variation of nutrients seem to be developing in some particular transect such as 36N, which suggests that long-term and systematic ecosystem monitoring in the Huanghai Sea is necessary.

Dimethylsulfide and Coral Bleaching: Links to Solar Radiation, Low Level Cloud and the Regulation of Seawater Temperatures and Climate in the Great Barrier Reef

Coral reefs produce atmospheric dimethylsulfide (DMSa) which oxidises to non-sea-salt (nss) sulfate aerosols, precursors of cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and low level cloud (LLC), reducing solar radiation and regulating sea surface temperatures (SSTs). Here we report measurements of solar radiation, SST, LLC, DMS flux, , and rainfall before, during and after a major coral bleaching event at Magnetic Island in the central Great Barrier Reef (GBR). Measurements are compared with those made at the nearby fringing reef of Or-pheus Island where coral bleaching did not occur. Extreme solar radiation levels occurred from November to late January and could have reflected cloud radiative effects that increased downwelling of solar radiation. High levels of LLC often coincided with high periodic fluxes of DMS from the unbleached coral reef at Orpheus Island (e.g. 14 - 20 μmol·m-2·d-1), in direct contrast to the very low fluxes of DMS that were emitted from the bleached, human-impacted Magnetic Island fringing reef (nd-0.8 μmol·m-2·d-1) when SSTs were >30°C. Continuous SSTs measurements at the Magnetic Island reef revealed various heating and cooling periods, interspersed with stable SSTs. Cooling periods (negative climate feedback) ranged from -1°C to -3°C (7 day mean -1.6°C), and often seemed to occur during low tides, periodic pulses of DMS flux and LLC, keeping SSTs °C. In contrast warming periods of +1°C to +3°C (positive climate feedback, 7 day mean +1.52°C), seemed to occur during increasing tides, decreasing DMS flux and low to medium levels of LLC which increased solar radiation and caused SSTs over 30°C and corals to bleach. Alternation between these two states or types of feedback is indicated in this research and may be a function of enhanced scattering of solar radiation from nss-sulfate aerosols that originate from oxidation of DMSa produced from the coral reefs in the GBR. The net radiative forcing from clouds can be as high as four times as large as the radiative forcing from a doubling of CO2 levels in the atmosphere, which needs to be taken into account when ascribing coral bleaching events in the GBR solely to GHG warming. Further studies are needed to more critically assess the importance of this GBR coral reef-cloud feedback to the climate of northern Australia and the western Pacific, where the greatest biomass of coral reefs occurs.

Synthesis of Calcium Hexaluminate from Waste Slag of Aluminum and Oyster Shell

Waste aluminum slag and oyster shell were used as raw materials to synthesize calcium hexaluminate（CA6）. The effects of different source materials of CaO and sintering temperature on the structures and properties of CA6 were investigated,respectively. The results show that compared to calcium oxide,oyster shell can lower the formation temperature of CA6,hence CA6 can be detected at 1300 ℃ by using oyster shell as the starting raw materials. Increasing the sintering temperature can promote the crystal growth. CA6 crystals show typical platelet shape,and its optimum sintering temperature falls in the 1450～1550 ℃ region. The bulk density is 1.54～1.83 g/cm^3,the apparent porosity is 44.1～55.2% and the flexural strength is 10.8～25.3 MPa.