An Improved Workflow for Permeability Estimation from Image Logs with Uncertainty Quantification

Natural Resources Research - Production forecasts are extremely sensitive to the spatial distribution of certain reservoir parameters, especially permeability, which controls fluid flow and...     

A 1-g shaking table investigation on response of a micropile system to earthquake excitation

Acta Geotechnica - Considering the increasing applications of micropile systems in seismically active areas, a better understanding of their seismic performance and the key controlling factors is...     

Special Issue: IAMG 2019

Mathematical Geosciences -     

LOCATIONAL CHARACTERISTICS OF FOREIGN EQUITY JOINT VENTURE INVESTMENT IN CHINA, 1979–1985

An examination of the locational characteristics of intended foreign equity joint venture (EJV) investment in China during the period 1979 to 1985 indicates that foreign EJV investment was highly concentrated in the coastal region, in the more developed areas of the provinces, and in large cities. The locational characteristics, however, differed between economic sectors and between countries of origin of investment. Although foreign EJV investment became spatially more dispersed through time, the impacts on the development of inland regions and backward areas in China remained limited.     

A Photometry Campaign for IR Geminorum in Quiescence

We report a V band photometry of the SU UMa star IR Gem at quiescence in January 2002. The observations were made with two telescopes spaced - 160° apart in longitude. Several photometric modulations have been found. One gives a period of 98.50(13) min, exactly equal to the orbital period determined spectroscopically. Two others occasionally strengthen and seem to be positive and negative superhumps with periods of 103.6(4) and 95.4(4) min, 5.2% longer and 3.1% shorter than the orbital period, respectively. A signal at - 0.6 c/d in the power spectrum is roughly consistent with the expected period of nodal precession of the disk. There is a puzzling peak at 0.21(3) c/d corresponding to the - 4.3 d sine wave seen in the raw light curve. We suspect it to be a beat frequency between the frequencies of apsidal and nodal precessions of the disk. Quasi-periodic cycles with amplitudes 0.15-0.6 mag can be seen in the light curve. The mechanism underlying this modulation is not clear.     

Eddy fluxes and sensitivity of the water cycle to spatial resolution in idealized regional aquaplanet model simulations

A multi-scale moisture budget analysis is used to identify the mechanisms responsible for the sensitivity of the water cycle to spatial resolution using idealized regional aquaplanet simulations. In the higher resolution simulations, moisture transport by eddy fluxes dry the boundary layer enhancing evaporation and precipitation. This effect of eddies, which is underestimated by the physics parameterizations in the low-resolution simulations, is found to be responsible for the sensitivity of the water cycle both directly, and through its upscale effects on the transport of mean moisture by the mean circulation. Correlations among moisture transport by eddies at adjacent ranges of scales provides a potential for reducing this sensitivity by representing the unresolved eddies by their marginally resolved counterparts.     

Acute toxicities of five commonly used antifouling booster biocides to selected subtropical and cosmopolitan marine species

Since 1990s, various booster biocides have been increasingly used as substitutes of organotins. However, knowledge about their toxicities on tropical/sub-tropical marine species is significantly lacking. This study comprehensively investigated the acute toxicities of copper, tributyltin (TBT), and five commonly used booster biocides including Irgarol, diuron, zinc pyrithione (ZnPT), copper pyrithione (CuPT) and chlorothalonil on the growth or survival of 12 marine species in which eight of them are native species of subtropical Hong Kong. We found that Irgarol was more toxic than TBT on the growth of autotrophic species. The toxicity of CuPT was comparable to that of TBT on almost all test species, while it showed higher toxicity than TBT on medaka fish larvae. As the usage of these biocides is expected to further increase worldwide, accurate assessments of their ecological risks are required for better informed decision on their management. This study provided useful datasets for such purposes.     

Long-term temporal trends (1992-2008) of imposex status associated with organotin contamination in the dogwhelk Nucella lapillus along the Icelandic coast

Using the dogwhelk Nucella lapillus as a biomonitor, we evaluated the organotin contamination along the Icelandic coast over nearly two decades. In 2008, adult dogwhelks collected from 30 locations were examined for imposex status. In 2009, tissue concentrations of six organotin species in dogwhelks from 16 of the 30 locations were analysed using gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. Tributyltin was the most predominant residue ranging from 2.07 to 70.38 μg kg(-1) dw, while triphenyltin was also detected at concentrations up to 22.79 μg kg(-1) dw. Higher total organotin concentrations and imposex indices were observed at locations near large harbours (Reykjavík and Hafnarfj?reur). By comparing the current imposex results with those of previous surveys (1992-2003), we found that recovery was slow near the large harbours, but more apparent near the smaller harbours. We also observed a notable increase in imposex at several northwest sites implying incessant input of organotins.     

The effectiveness of double hulls in reducing vessel-accident oil spillage

While much work has been done in investigating determinants of oil spillage attributed to vessel accidents, little research has been conducted on the effectiveness of ship hull design in reducing marine pollution. This paper addresses whether the double-hull requirement reduces vessel-accident oil spillage. The volume of oil spillage due to oil-cargo vessel accidents was investigated using tobit regressions and an empirical data set of individual vessel accident pollution incidents investigated by the US Coast Guard from 2001 to 2008. The results indicate that the double hull design on average reduces the size of oil spills by 20% and 62% in tank barge and tanker ship accidents, respectively.