Behavior of soil plugs in open‐ended model piles driven into sands

Calibration chamber tests were conducted on open‐ended model piles driven into dried siliceous sands with different soil conditions in order to clarify the effect of soil conditions on load transfer mechanism in the soil plug. The model pile used in the test series was devised so that the bearing capacity of an open‐ended pile could be measured as three components: outside shaft resistance, plug resistance, and tip resistance. Under the assumption that the unit shaft resistance due to pile‐soil plug interaction varies linearly near the pile tip, the plug resistance was estimated. The plug capacity, which was defined as the plug resistance at ultimate condition, is mainly dependent on the ambient lateral pressure and relative density. The length of wedged plug that transfers the load decreases with the decrease of relative density, but it is independent of the ambient pressure and penetration depth. Under several assumptions, the value of earth pressure coefficient in the soil plug can be calculated. It gradually reduces with increase in the longitudinal distance from the pile tip. At the bottom of the soil plug, it tends to decrease with increase in the penetration depth and relative density, and to increase with the increase of ambient pressure. This may be attributed to (1) the decrease of friction angle as a result of increase in the effective vertical stress, (2) the difference in the dilation degree of the soil plug during driving with ambient pressures, and (3) the difference in compaction degree of soil plug during driving with relative densities. Based on the test results, an empirical equation was suggested to compute the earth pressure coefficient to be used in the calculation of plug capacity using one‐dimensional analysis, and it produces proper plug capacities for all soil conditions.     

Development of the cyclic p–y curve for a single pile in sandy soil

Pile foundations that support transmission towers or offshore structures are dominantly subjected to cyclic lateral load induced by wind and waves. For a successful design, it is crucial to investigate the effect of cyclic lateral loads on the pile behavior that is loaded laterally. Although the p–y curve method is generally utilized to design the cyclic laterally loaded pile foundations, the effect of cyclic lateral loads on the pile has not been properly implemented with the p–y curve. This reflects a lack of consideration of the overall stiffness change in soil–pile interaction. To address this, a series of model pile tests were conducted in this study on a preinstalled aluminum flexible pile under various sandy soil conditions. The test results were used to investigate the effect of cyclic lateral loads on the p–y behavior. The cyclic p–y curve, which properly takes into account this effect, was developed as a hyperbolic function. Pseudo-static analysis was also conducted with the proposed cyclic p–y curve, which showed that it was able to properly simulate cyclic laterally loaded pile behavior in sandy soil.     

Influence on lateral rigidity of offshore piles using proposed p–y curves

A fundamental study of pile–soil systems subjected to lateral loads in offshore deposit was conducted using experimental tests and numerical analysis. The emphasis was on the soil–pile rigidity of a laterally loaded pile in marine clay. Rigid- and flexible-pile analyses were conducted for comparison. A framework for determining the lateral load transfer curve (p–y curves) is proposed based on both field and laboratory model tests. A numerical analysis that takes into account the proposed p–y curves was performed for the pile flexibility parameters such as pile diameter, pile length, pile-bending stiffness, and the modulus of subgrade reaction. Based on the analysis, it is shown that the differences in bending moment and lateral displacement are more significant for flexible piles rather than rigid piles. It was found that the p–y curves influence the behavior of flexible piles more than rigid piles, thus the magnitude and distribution of the p–y curves are significantly important in flexible pile design.     

Recent changes of Shandong sandy coast and in fluence of human activities

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Determination of Shaft Capacity for Pile under Cyclic Axial Loading in Clay

For load-controlled and displacement-controlled test data of piles cyclically axially loaded in clay, the displacement conditions are suggested for determining the shaft capacity. According to the suggested displacement conditions, not only the results of shaft capacity from laboratory model piles are close to those from in-situ piles, but also the results of load-controlled tests are in satisfactory agreement with those of displacement-controlled tests. Moreover, based on the test data of laboratory model piles in combination with the test data published, the paper suggests the values of the normalized shaft capacity of piles under a variety of static and cyclic loading combinations.     

Static pullout resistance of anchor chains in cohesionless soil—laboratory testing

This paper investigates the static pullout resistance of anchor chains embedded into cohesionless soil. The anchor chains, which are made of steel, were buried into Jumunjin sand whose relative density was set to approximately 60%. The anchor chains were horizontally pulled out through a displacement of 70?mm in laboratory model tests. Three different embedment depths and seven different numbers of chain links were adopted. The pullout resistance of the anchor chains was found to increase with increasing embedment depth and the number of anchor chain links. The measured resistance was significantly higher than the calculated frictional resistance, implying that the passive resistance at the front of the anchor chain significantly contributes to the pullout resistance. The contribution of the passive resistance tends to decrease with increasing number of chain links.     

A note on the fauna of a ripple‐marked sandy sediment in western cook strait,New Zealand

Photographs of a ripple‐marked sea bed are reproduced together with the results of a mechanical analysis of the sediment and a list of the animals found. The sparseness of the fauna is attributed to the mobility of the substrate.     

Water masses classification of the upper layer in the Equatorial Western Pacific using ISODATA of fuzzy cluster

-In this paper,by using ISODATA of fuzzy cluster,the water masses classification of the upper layer in the E-quatorial Western Pacific is carried out. On the basis of the degree of the membership in the obtained optima) classification matrix, the solid distribution of the detailed structure of water masses is made. The water of the upper layer,consisting of six water masses,may be divided into three layers,i, e. ,the surface,subsurface and intermediate layer. Besides analyzing the features of various water masses,a discussion on their distribution structure and formation mechanism is also made.     

Development and post-depositional deformation of a Middle Eocene deep-water sandy depositional system in the Sørvestsnaget Basin,SW Barents Sea

Three-dimensional seismic data from the Sørvestsnaget Basin, SW Barents Sea supported by well data, are used to investigate a Middle Eocene deep-water depositional system. The system forms a NNW-oriented sediment accumulation, characterized by increased seismic amplitudes, and abrupt western termination. The data indicate that post-depositional sand remobilization and injection led to formation of sub-circular sediment blocks up to several km wide to the east of the main accumulation. The deep-water depositional system was deformed by wing-like sandstone intrusions, extending 200–400 m upwards from the margins of the parent sand bodies. The intrusions have polygonal or broadly circular plan view geometries. Deformation is inferred to have been associated with overpressure of the sand bodies as a result of rapid burial, fluid migration into the sealed sand bodies from deeper sources via synsedimentary faults, and fluid drainage from the surrounding mudrock during early compaction. The final triggering mechanism for sand remobilization and injection is inferred to have been fracture propagation due to differential compaction and/or fault-induced earthquakes. The injectite complexes are often associated with folding of overlying strata, which we relate to differential compaction. Intrusion of sand took place during the Middle Eocene. Post-depositional sand remobilization and injection have important implications for hydrocarbon exploration because they cause changes in the reservoir primary architecture, connectivity and structure.     

Optimal estimation of absolute geostrophic velocity field in vicinity of the Luzon Strait using variational data assimilation technique

A P - vector method is optimized using the variational data assimilation technique(VDAT). The absolute geostrophic velocity fields in the vicinity of the Luzon Strait (LS) are calculated, the spatial structures and seasonal variations of the absolute geostrophic velocity field are investigated. Our results show that the Kuroshio enters the South China Sea (SCS) in the south and middle of the Luzon Strait and flows out in the north, so the Kuroshio makes a slight clockwise curve in the Luzon Strait, and the curve is strong in winter and weak in summer. During the winter, a westward current appears in the surface, and locates at the west of the Luzon Strait. It is the north part of a cyclonic gyre which exits in the northeast of the SCS; an anti-cyclonic gyre occurs on the intermediate level, and it exits in the northeast of the SCS, and an eastward current exits in the southeast of the anti-cyclonic gyre.     

Biological assessment of rivers in the Manawatu‐Wanganui region of New Zealand using a predictive macroinvertebrate model

This study presents a river invertebrate and classification system (RIVPACS) type bioassessment methodology for the Manawatu‐Wanganui region of New Zealand. Aquatic macroinvertebrates and related physico‐chemical data were collected at 127 sites, with minimal human impacts (reference sites) in 2000. The reference sites were classified into five groups based on their macroinvertebrate data using TWINSPAN. These biotic groupings were then applied to their corresponding physico‐chemical data and discriminant functions were obtained to assign sites into the biotic groups using the physico‐chemical data. The discriminant functions correctly allocated 72% of the sites to the correct classification group using a jack‐knife validation. The probabilities from the discriminant functions were used to predict macroinvertebrate assemblages and these were compared with observed macroinvertebrate assemblages. The model was then used to assess the health of 29 test sites with known impacts. All test sites were assessed as impacted based on the 10th percentile of the reference data. To evaluate the temporal reliability of the model, data available for 11 sites sampled in 1997 and 2000 were run through the model. The results of this comparison showed little variation in O/E ratios over time and the two sites classed as impacted in 1997 were also classed as impacted in 2000.     

Latitudinal trends in the species richness of free-living marine nematode assemblages from exposed sandy beaches along the coast of Chile (18–42 °S)

The latitudinal pattern of species richness of free-living marine nematodes from exposed sandy beaches along the coast of Chile between 18 and 42° S was examined. Unlike many other examinations of latitudinal gradients, this study is not based on data mined from the literature, but on samples collected specifically to examine these themes. Five replicate quantitative 50 cm³ samples of sediment were taken from the zone of retention of 66 exposed sandy beaches. The free-living nematode fauna was identified and quantified to species level. The data were then examine using ordinary least squares and simultaneous autoregressive model (SAR_err) regression methods, examining the associations between species richness and latitude, coastline complexity, and sea surface temperature, primary productivity of the adjacent coastal waters and mean latitudinal range size. The species richness of free-living marine nematodes from exposed sandy beaches along the coast of Chile decreased with increasing latitude and was strongly associated with mean annual sea surface temperature. Mean latitudinal range size increased with increasing latitude, supporting Rapoport’s rule, and decreased with increasing species richness. The results suggest that the nematode fauna of exposed sandy beaches is derived from a low latitude fauna that has dispersed to higher latitudes, but that many species may be physiologically constrained, by temperature, from dispersing further south.     

Numerical simulation of local scour around two pipelines in tandem using CFD–DEM method

In the field of offshore oil and gas engineering, the arrangement of multiple pipelines are becoming more common, the spacing between the pipelines and the incoming stream velocity will significantly affect the scouring process around the pipelines. In this study, the effect of space ratio (G/D) and the stream velocity on the scouring process around two pipelines in tandem are investigated using the coupled approach of computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and discrete element method (DEM). Here G is the spacing between the pipelines and D is the diameter of the pipeline. Specifically, the effect of space ratio and the stream velocity are discussed by simulating the gap ratio (G/D) between two pipelines ranging from 1 to 3 with an interval of 1, under the stream velocity U = 0.5,1 and 2 m/s, The results indicate that when G/D ≤ 2, the equilibrium scour depth below the upstream pipeline (S1) is slightly larger than that under the downstream pipeline (S2), S1 and S2 slightly increase as the gap ratio increases. Whereas for G/D > 2, the equilibrium scour depth beneath the upstream pipeline is slightly smaller than that under the downstream pipeline, S1 and S2 slightly decrease as the gap ratio increases. Furthermore, the scour depths are highly dependent on and positively related to the incoming stream velocity, the equilibrium bed profiles are similar under the same incident stream velocity with different gap ratios.     

An evaluation of input/dissipation terms in WAVEWATCH Ⅲ using in situ and satellite significant wave height data in the South China Sea

A WAVEWATCH III version 3.14(WW3) wave model is used to evaluate input/dissipation source term packages WAM3, WAM4 and TC96 considering the effect of atmospheric instability. The comparisons of a significant wave height acquired from the model with different packages have been performed based on wave observation radar and HY-2 altimetry significant wave height data through five experiments in the South China Sea domain spanning latitudes of 0°–35°N and longitudes of 100°–135°E. The sensitivity of the wind speed correction parameter in the TC96 package also has been analyzed. From the results, the model is unable to dissipate the wave energy efficiently during a swell propagation with either source packages. It is found that TC96 formulation with the "effective wind speed" strategy performs better than WAM3 and WAM4 formulations. The wind speed correction parameter in the TC96 source package is very sensitive and needs to be calibrated and selected before the WW3 model can be applied to a specific region.     

Service vessel activity in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico in support of the oil and gas industry using AIS data, 2009–2010

Offshore exploration and production in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico is supported by a large number of service vessels characterized by complex logistical patterns and demand points distributed across an expansive geographic area. No quantitative data on the spatial and temporal distributions of service vessel activity in the region is available due to the size, complexity and dynamics of the network. The purpose of this paper is to apply Automatic Identification System position data to quantify service vessel activity in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico from 2009 to 2010. A total of 1.1 million vessel arrivals and departures were recorded in 2009–2010, and in 2010, the number of vessel events increased by 40% due in part to the Macondo oil spill and cleanup response. Port-to-port movements comprise the majority of events and about 30% of activity relates to movements offshore. Port Fourchon, Venice, New Orleans, Sabine-Neches, and Lake Charles were the most active ports during the period. A detailed breakdown of vessel counts and the limitations of the analysis are outlined.     

The sustainable use and conservation of biodiversity in ABNJ: What can be achieved using existing international agreements?

While the international community debates the desirability and possible content of a new global instrument for the conservation and sustainable use of marine biodiversity in areas beyond national jurisdiction, alternative approaches to improving the application and implementation of existing agreements for the protection of biodiversity appear to have fallen off the agenda. Recent practice under existing global and regional agreements suggests that, given political will, significantly greater protections could be achieved through the more effective implementation of individual sectoral agreements. However, while single-sector measures have the potential to make a valuable contribution, ultimately only multi-sectoral, integrated, cooperative management can ensure the conservation and long-term sustainable use of marine biodiversity in ABNJ. This requires establishing mechanisms for cooperation both intra and inter-sectorally, as well as between the sectoral and global and regional conservation agreements. This paper examines recent initiatives within various sectoral and conservation treaty regimes aimed at improving their application within ABNJ as well as some of the challenges to, and options for, further and better cooperation and coordination among and between existing regimes, and it identifies a range of possible mechanisms for achieving more effective implementation and coordination among them. Greater use of existing mechanisms represents a sensible approach to making the most of existing arrangements without in any way foreclosing the possibility of the adoption of a more comprehensive, integrated global agreement for the protection of marine biodiversity in ABNJ.     

Determination of trophic levels of marine fish in the Yellow Sea and northern East China Sea using nitrogen stable isotope(δ15N)analysis of otoliths

Fish otolith δ15N(δ15Noto)is a demonstrated source of information of dietary history for marine fish as it is available in otolith archives and sedimentary depo...     

Safety and CO2 emissions: Implications of using organic fluids in a ship’s waste heat recovery system

This paper considers the practical application of exhaust gas waste heat recovery from the main engines of merchant ships. A water-based Rankine Cycle is used as a baseline and this is compared with five organic Rankine cycle systems using benzene, heptane, hexamethyldisiloxane, toluene and R245fa. The thermodynamic model of the waste heat recovery system is described. This is then applied in a case study utilising an Aframax tanker. The case study allows the comparison of the different waste heat recovery systems in more realistic scenarios. The efficiency of the different systems is compared as well as their potential to reduce CO₂ emissions, ship impact, and economic viability are also discussed. The paper closes with consideration of the safety and regulatory issues associated with the use of organic fluids in the marine environment.     

Succession of phytoplankton functional groups from spring to early summer in the central Bohai Sea using HPLC–CHEMTAX approaches

Phytoplankton is a key component in the functioning of marine ecosystems, phytoplankton community structures are very sensitive to their environment. This study was conducted in the central Bohai Sea in the spring and early summer of 2015. Spatial variations in phytoplankton functional groups were examined through high-performance liquid chromatography pigment–CHEMTAX analysis. Results suggested that the phytoplankton biomass (chlorophyll a [Chl a]) in spring was mainly derived from the diatom community and was 3.5-fold higher than that in the summer. Meanwhile, the phytoplankton in the early summer sustained more diverse marker pigments than that in the spring. Despite the overwhelming predominance of microsized phytoplankton in the spring, some smaller phytoplankton (pico- or nanosized), including flagellates, such as prasinophytes, chlorophytes, and cryptophytes, highly contributed to the total Chl a in the summer. Various physico-chemical variables were recorded, and their correlations with phytoplankton density were established by redundancy analysis. Temperature, water stratification, nutrient availability, and even nutritive proportion influenced the succession of phytoplankton functional groups from diatom dominance in the spring to flagellate (mainly haptophytes and prasinophytes) dominance in the early summer. In conclusion, our work comprehensively evaluated the phytoplankton diversity and dynamics in the central Bohai Sea and suggests the need for long-term monitoring for further investigation.     

Comparison of the growth rates of two stocks ot snapper (Chrysophrys auratus) in south‐east Australian waters using capture‐recapture data

Between 1957 and 1962, 4155 snapper, Chrysophrys auratus (Bloch & Schneider), were tagged and released at a number of sites in Victoria. By the end of June 1972, 210 had been recaptured, and knowing their lengths at release and recapture and the periods at liberty, we determined the von Bertalanffy growth parameters K and L ₈ ^. The values (with 95% confidence limits) were: eastern stock ‐ K = 0.071 ± 0.040, L₈ = 968 ± 325 mm; western stock ‐ K = 0.068 ± 0.023, L₈ = 1079 ± 209 mm; combined stocks ‐ K = 0.062 ± 0.019, L ₈ = 1119 ± 215 mm. No difference between the stocks was apparent when we compared the estimates of K and L ₈ separately; however, when the estimates of K and L ₈ were compared together, a Wilcoxon's test gave a significance probability of 1.5%, indicating a difference in growth rate between the stocks. For the range of lengths of snapper recaptured, this difference was evidently caused by faster growth of snapper from the western stock.