Based on the principles of protecting integrity and stability of ecosystem, and aimed at promoting maintenance of well-conditioned delta ecosystem, as well as improving the carrying capacity of the ecosystem and protecting biodiversity, this paper identified 23,600 hm2 of wetlands for restoration project which urgently needed to be supplied with freshwater in the Yellow River Delta (YRD). Whereas, this paper, adopting the principle and methodology of landscape ecology and supported by RS and GIS and wetlands plant physiology, ecology and hydrology, made a study on coupling mechanism between water and ecological process, and therefore, established the eco-hydrology based environmental flow calculation and evaluation model of the YRD. Furthermore, this study uses pre-scheme methodology and planning evaluation concept of landscape ecology decision & evaluation support system to forecast and evaluate ecological effects on the wetlands with different wetlands water discharge scenarios, which focused on the relationship study between suitable habitat conditions for indicator species such as red-crowned crane, Oriental stork, Sauder's gull and changing ecological pattern after water supplement. The evaluation results show that the wetlands of the YRD have the potential to be the habitat for rare birds such as red-crowned crane, Oriental stork, Sauder's gull, but the present habitat quality is not good. After discharging water to wetlands, the area of reed wetlands will reach 22,000 hm2 from 10,000 hm2 and seablite mudflats will reach 7000 hm2 from 4500 hm2, serving as wintering, inhabiting and breeding sites for many rare birds. The habitat quality and carrying capacity will increase notably. In general, after fully taking into account water resources, water allocation engineering measures and integrated requirement of wetlands ecosystem protection, this study proposed recommendation of supplying the wetlands of the YRD with 0.35 billion m3/a freshwater abstracted from the Yellow River to restore and protect the YRD wetlands ecosystem.
The groundwater level of 39 unconfined observation wells from 2004 to 2006 in North China Plain (NCP) was monitored using automatic groundwater monitoring data loggers KADEC-MIZU II of Japan. The automatic groundwater sensors were installed for the corporation project between China and Japan. Combined with the monitoring results from 2004 to 2006 with the major factors affecting the dynamic patterns of groundwater, such as relief, depth of groundwater level, discharge extent and rivers, the dynamic regions of NCP groundwater were compiled. According to the dynamic features of groundwater in NCP, six dynamic patterns of groundwater level were identified, including discharge pattern in the piedmont plain, lateral recharge-runoff-discharge pattern in the piedmont plain, rechargedischarge pattern in the middle channel zone, precipitation infiltration-evaporation pattern in the shallow groundwater region of the central plain, lateral recharge-evaporation pattern in the recharge-affected area along the Yellow River, and infiltration-discharge-evaporation pattern in the littoral plain. Based on this, various dynamic patterns features of groundwater were interpreted and different factors of different dynamic patterns were compared.
The mining cities in central Liaoning region are important energy production and heavy industry base in China. It is important to conduct research on their water resources supply-demand change. The framework of water resources supply-demand balance, the calculation of both useable water resources and water resource demand, and the influencing factors of water resources supply-demand balance were analyzed. Results showed that: from 1997 to 2005, the regional differences of water resources supply-demand balance among the mining cities in central Liaoning region were evident. The water resources supply-demand in Anshan was notably unbalanced, while the lack of water resources was declining, which was 0.32 ×108 m3 in 2005; the supply-demand of water resources in Fushun kept balance on the whole, the surplus of water resources was increasing, which was 5.25 ×108 m3 in 2005; for Benxi the water resources supply-demand was balanceable, the available water resources exceeded the water resource demand each year, the surplus of water resource was 8.65×108 m3 in 2005. The utilization rate of water resources in Anshan was 65.56%, while the degree of water demand was highly intense; the utilization rate of water resources in Fushun was 35.11%, while the degree of water demand was moderately highly intense; for Benxi the utilization rate of water resources was 27.96% , while the degree of water demand was moderately highly intense. The structures of water resource demand were also different among mining cities in central Liaoning region. In Anshan, the water demand of agriculture and eco-environment were primary, which accounted for 76% of the total; in Fushun, the eco-environment water demand was most significant, which accounted for 60% , the agriculture water demand accounted for only 23%; in Benxi, eco-environment water demand accounted for 67%, while industrial water demand accounted for only 15%.
The characteristics of water vapor transportation over China and its relationship with precipitation anomalies in the Yangtze River Basin are analyzed by using the observed data in China and ECMWF reanalysis data from 1981 to 2002 in summer. The results indicate that the first mode of the integrated water vapor transportation is significant whose spatial distribution presents water vapor convergence or divergence in the Yangtze River Basin, and whose variation has a close relationship with the precipitation in the Yangtze River Basin. When the Western Pacific Subtropical High (WPSH) is strong and shifts southward and westward, the Indian Monsoon Low Pressure (IMLP) is weak, and the northern part of China stands behind of the middle and high latitude trough, a large amount of water vapor from Bay of Bengal (BOB), South China Sea (SCS) and Western Pacific forms a strong and steady southwest water vapor band and meets the strong cold water vapor from northern China in the Yangtze River Basin, thus it is likely to cause flood in the Yangtze River Basin. When WPSH is weak and shifts northward and eastward, IMLP is strong, and there is nearly straight west wind over the middle and high latitude, it is unfavorable for oceanic vapor extending to China and no steady and strong southwest water vapor transportation exists in the region south of the Yangtze River. Meanwhile the cold air from northern China is weak and can hardly be transported to the Yangtze River Basin. This brings on no obvious water vapor convergence and less precipitation in the Yangtze River Basin.
The relationship between North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO) and Aksu River Runoff (ARR) was investigated by using the methods of wavelet transform, cross wavelet transform, correlation, abrupt change test and linear trend. The results show that: (1) The close affinity between ARR and NAO is obtained by analyzing its interdecadal variations, cycles and correlation. (2) The cross wavelet transform indicates that the correlation is good between ARR and NAO at all cycles in the 1990s, the significant correlation areas are distributed mainly in the 1990s. (3) The variation of ARR and NAO trend strength is coherent. (4) The abrupt change of NAO affects the abrupt change of ARR. (5) The atmospheric circulation variations caused by NAO has impact on the climate of the Aksu River basin, then the runoff of the Aksu River is affected.
The soil and water loss (SWL) has been the most serious eco-environmental problem in the Three Gorges Reservoir area of Chongqing. In this paper the authors analyze the spatiotemporal features of SWL from 1999 to 2004 based on RS and GIS. The results are shown in the following aspects. (1) The SWL area in the Three Gorges Reservoir area presents a decreasing trend from 1999 to 2004, and the intensity of acute and extremely intense SWL reduces evidently. (2) The SWL mainly exists in purple soil, yellow soil, limestone soil, paddy soil and yellow brown soil distributed areas. The moderate (quite obvious SWL), intense (relatively high SWL), extremely intense (relatively obvious SWL) and acute SWL (high SWL) are mainly distribuited in purple soil and yellow soil areas. (3) The dry slope land and sparse woodland that are influenced intensively by human activities are hit by most serious SWL. The total SWL area exceeds 70%. About 90% of the high intense SWL happens on the dry slope land. (4) The SWL in the study area shows an obvious vertical differentiation characteristic. The SWL mainly occurs in the low mountain and hilly regions with an elevation of 200-1500 m, being more than 90% of the total area. The SWL types are mainly intense and extremely intense. There is almost no SWL in the regions of river valleys and terraces where the elevation is lower than 200 m, or in regions where the elevation is higher than 1500 m with high vegetation coverage . (5) SWL is well correlated with slope. About 70% of SWL happens on the steep slope greater than 15o and high intense SWL does as well, especially, above extremely intense SWL occupies over 80%. (6) There is no obvious correlation between SWL and aspect. The affected areas and intensity are similar in different aspects. (7) The SWL concentrates mainly in the regions where the values of R are between 300 and 340. The area of SWL in the regions where the values of R are from 340 to 357 is small, but the extremely intense SWL is relatively well correlated with the high R values.
According to a long series of measured sediment data, the sedimentation effects of Dongting Lake were studied in light of the relationship between sedimentation characteristics and the resources & environment. The result shows that the long-term deposition and the impact of human activities has led to a cycle of the evolution of sedimentation pattern, resulting in sediment disaster effects and resources effects in Dongting Lake. The main features are as follows: 1) The water beach, silt beach, lake marsh beach, reed beach and other types of beach shaped by sedimentation effects, constitute the main body of the giant lake system. 2) The disaster chains are induced, i.e. sedimentation → marshland expansion & reclamation → flood function decline, the fish resource depletion, biodiversity reduction disaster chain, sedimentation → marshland expansion → floods, water pollution disaster chain, sedimentation → marshland floating vegetation rising → schistosomiasis, rodents virulence disaster chain, sedimentation → flood embankment bursting → land desertification disaster chain. 3) Sedimentation has created about 98.13 ×104 hm2 of land in the past 55 years. Rational development and utilization of marshland resources have produced tremendous economic benefits.
On the basis of archeological period division and AMS14C dating to the sedimentary layers at Zhongba and Yuxi sited, and according to the analysis results of Na, Ca and Mg in 201 sedimentary samples from Zhongba site and that of Ca and Na in 47 sedimentary samples from Yuxi site by using an inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP), we found that there were 35 correlation periods when the contents of Ca and Na were reversely correlated, that is to say, whenever the content of Ca was the highest, the content of Na was the lowest, and vice versa. Among them, there were 21 correlation periods when the content of Ca was the highest, and Na was the lowest, indicating that there were about 21 prosperous periods of ancient salt production at Zhongba site since 3000 BC. Other 14 correlation periods with the peak values of Na while the low values of Ca indicate that there were about 14 declined periods of salt production at Zhongba site since 3000 BC. The conclusion obtained from the reverse relationship between Ca and Na contents in this paper is consistent with that "the salt production at Zhongba site started in the new stone age, developed in the Xia and Shang dynasties, reached at the heyday in periods from the Western Zhou to the Han Dynasties, maintained stable to develop in the Tang and the Song dynasties, and gradually declined after the Song Dynasty because the sea salt was conveyed into Sichuan region, however, still had production in the 1970s and 1980s educed from archeological exploration.
Samples of suspended particulate matters (SPMs), surface sediment and road dusts were collected in the Yangtze estuarine and nearby coastal areas, coastal rivers, and Shanghai metropolitan area, respectively. Sixteen polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in the USEPA priority-controlled list were determined by GC-MS and compound-specific stable carbon isotopes of individual PAHs were analyzed by GC-C-IRMS. PAHs sources of SPMs and surface sediments in the Yangtze estuarine and nearby coastal areas were examined using multiple source identification techniques which integrated molecular mass indices with organic compound-specific stable isotopes. The results showed that the third and fourth rings PAH compounds were dominant in SPMs and surface sediments, similar to those in Wusong sewage discharge outlet, Shidongkou sewage disposal plant, Huangpu River, coastal rivers and Shanghai metropolitan area. Principal component analysis (PCA) integrated with molecular mass indices indicated that gasoline, diesel oil, coal and wood combustion and petroleum were the main sources for PAHs in the Yangtze Estuary. Use of PAH compound-specific stable isotopes tracked PAHs input pathways. PAHs derived from wood and coal combustion and petroleum were input into the Yangtze estuarine and nearby coastal areas by coastal rivers, sewage discharge outlets in dry season and urban storm water runoff in flood season. PAHs derived from vehicle emissions were mainly accumulated in road dusts from urban traffic lines and commercial district, which entered the coastal area by the northwest prevailing wind in dry season and storm water runoff in flood season.
Deposition of atmospheric dust was measured in snow deposited on Glacier No.1 at the headwater of Urumqi River, Haxilegen Glacier No.51 in Kuitun and Miaoergou Glaicer in Hami in East Tianshan Mountains, western China. An analysis of horizontal distribution of dust layers, snow height and concentration of dust in the snow cover suggests that deposition of dust in East Tianshan Mountains is different from each other. The characteristics of modern atmospheric dust deposition in snow is different among three research points in East Tianshan Mountains , as the environment changes from west to east. Mean mass concentration of microparticles with 0.57 < d < 26 μm in the snowpack is 969 μg/kg, 1442 μg/kg and 3690 μg/kg in three study sites, respectively. Dust flux to East Tianshan Mountains has a range of 58.2-73.8 μgcm-2a-1 for particles with 0.57 < d < 26 μm. Dust layers in the snow cover contain Ca-rich materials typically found in Asian dust particles. Vertical profile of Na+ concentration in the snowpack is also very similar with duat's. Volume size distributions of dust particles in the snow showed single-modal structures having volume median diameters from 3-22 μm. Dust profiles in snow cover over the last 4 years reveal frequent sporadic high dust concentrations and large year-to-year variations in the amount deposited, implying that dust deposition in East Tianshan Mountains is very sensitive to atmospheric environmental change.
For researching the spatio-temporal variation of the riverine dissolved inorganic carbon (DIC) isotopic characteristic, we carried out a survey throughout the hydrologic year which δ13CDIC of the surface water and its physiochemical parameter were examined along the Xijiang Inner Estuarine waterway from the autumn of September 2006 to the summer of June 2007. There were striking seasonal variations on the average δ13CDIC, as the average δ13CDIC in summer (-13.91‰) or in autumn (-13.09‰) was much less than that in spring (-11.71‰) or in winter (-12.26‰ ). The riverine δ13CDIC was controlled by decomposed condition of the riverine organic matter linking the seasonal variation of the physiochemical parameter in the surface water according to the correlation analysis which indicated notable relation between δ13CDIC and water temperature (p = 0.000; r = -0.569) or between δ13CDIC and oxide-reduction potential (p = 0.000; r = 0.646). The striking positive correlation between δ13CDIC and the sampling distance occurred in the summer high flow, while striking negative correlation occurred in the spring low flow, indicating that river-sea interaction influenced water physiochemical parameter and controlled riverine DIC property in the survey waterway. In view of the riverine δ13CDIC decreasing for the decomposition of the terrestrial organic matter in rainy season in summer and increasing for the briny invaded zone extending in dry season in spring along the waterway from the Makou gauge station to the Modaomen outlet, the δ13CDIC spatio-temporal variation was closely related to the geographical environment of the Xijiang basin.
