Weathering and deterioration of rock properties of the Dabotap pagoda (World Cultural Heritage), Republic of Korea

The Bulkugsa Dabotap pagoda was built in AD 761, and designated as World Cultural Heritage by UNESCO in 1995. The ca. 270 blocks used in the construction of the pagoda consist mainly of white grey alkali granite with medium-grained equi-granular texture and small mialolitic cavities. Small quantities of biotite granite, granodiorite, gabbroic and tuffaceous rocks were also used. Some overlapping blocks are very damp. The pagoda body is inclined toward the northeast owing to differential loading. Fractures and artificial deterioration of the pagoda are not serious, but the surfaces of blocks show exfoliations that indicate granular decomposition of minerals. The supporting rocks and the round handrail of the octagonal second floor are too weathered to be treated and are being replaced. The roof stones on the first and second floor are seriously damaged because there is no drainage route for rainwater. The joints between blocks have fractures that cross each other; they have been further damaged by inserting concrete, cement mortar, rock fragments and iron plates. This has accelerated discoloration and fractures. Widespread colonization by algae, fungi, lichens and bryophytes has occurred on the margins and surfaces roof stones of the pagoda. Chemical treatment will be necessary to remove the vegetation cover.     

Simultaneous Integration of Pressure, Water Cut,1 and 4-D Seismic Data In Geostatistical Reservoir Modeling

A geostatistically-based inverse technique, the sequential-self calibration (SSC) method, is used to update reservoir models so that they match observed pressure, water cut and time-lapse water saturation derived from 4-D seismic. Within the SSC, a steady-state genetic algorithm (GA) is applied to search the optimal master point locations, as well as the associated optimal permeability perturbations at the master locations. GA provides significant flexibility for SSC to parameterize master point locations, as well as to integrate different types of dynamic data because it does not require sensitivity coefficients. We show that the coupled SSC/GA method is very robust. Integrating dynamic data can significantly improve the characterization of reservoir heterogeneity with reduced uncertainty. Particularly, it can efficiently identify important large-scale spatial variation patterns (e.g., well connectivity, near well averages, high flow channels and low flow barriers) embedded in the reservoir heterogeneity. Using dynamic data, however, could be difficult to reproduce the permeability values on the cell-by-cell basis for the entire model. This reveals the important evidence that dynamic data carry information about large-scale spatial variation features, while they may be not sufficient to resolve the individual local values for the entire model. Through multiple realization analysis, the large-scale spatial features carried by the dynamic data can be extracted and represented by the ensemble mean model. Furthermore, the region informed by the dynamic data can be identified as the area with significant reduced variances in the ensemble variance model. Within this region, the cell-by-cell correlation between the true and updated permeability values can be significantly improved by integrating the dynamic data.     

Impact of climate change on water resources in Yongdam Dam Basin,Korea

The main purpose of this study is to investigate and evaluate the impact of climate change on the runoff and water resources of Yongdam basin, Korea. First, we construct global climate change scenarios using the YONU GCM control run and transient experiments, then transform the YONU GCM grid-box predictions with coarse resolution of climate change into the site-specific values by statistical downscaling techniques. The downscaled values are used to modify the parameters of a stochastic weather generator model for the simulation of the site-specific daily weather time series. The weather series is fed into a semi-distributed hydrological model called SLURP to simulate the streamflows associated with other water resources for the condition of 2CO₂. This approach is applied to the Yongdam dam basin in the southern part of Korea. The results show that under the condition of 2CO₂, about 7.6% of annual mean streamflow is reduced when it is compared with the current condition. Seasonal streamflows in the winter and autumn are increased, while streamflow in the summer is decreased. However, the seasonality of the simulated series is similar to the observed pattern An erratum to this article can be found at     

Simulation of the 1953 storm surge in the North Sea

The 1953 North Sea floods, the Big Flood, was one of the worst natural disasters in Europe in modern times and is probably one of the most studied severe coastal floods. Several factors led to the devastating storm surge along the southern North Sea coast in combination of strong and sustained northerly winds, invert barometric effect, high spring tide, and an accumulation of the large surge in the Strait of Dover. However, the storm waves and their roles during the 1953 North Sea storm surge are not well investigated. Therefore, the effect of wave setup due to breaking waves in the storm surge processes is investigated through numerical experiments. A coupled process-based tide-wave-surge model was used to investigate and simulate the storm surge in the North Sea during January 31–February 1, 1953 and validated by comparing with historical water level records at tide gauges and wave observations at light vessels in the North Sea. Meteorological forcing inputs for the period, January 27–February 3, 1953 are reproduced from ERA-20C reanalysis data with a constant correction factor for winds. From the simulation results, it is found that, in addition to the high water due to wind setup, wave setup due to breaking waves nearshore play a role of approximately 10% of the storm surge peaks with approximately 0.2 m. The resulting modeling system can be used extensively for the preparedness of the storm surge and wave of extreme condition, and usual barotropic forecast.     

Influences of diel and tidal cycles on fish assemblage in eelgrass (Zostera marina) bed of southern Korea during autumn

Short-term tidal and diel variations of autumn fish assemblage in a Zostera marina bed were investigated using 3 h interval samplings for 24 h in both spring and neap tide using a small beam trawl. A total of 1 346 fishes belonging to 19 species were collected at spring tide, whereas 1 115 fishes belonging to 17 species were at neap tide. The common fish species were Nuchequula nuchalis, Acanthogobius flavimanus, Takifugu niphobles, Acentrogobius pflaumii, and Pholis nebulosa with the former three species dominating at spring tide, while the latter two species being abundant at neap tide. Diel variation in abundance was significant with higher abundance at night than day, but there were no significant differences between spring and neap tides, and between ebb and flood tides (three-way ANOVAs). Diel variation in the abundance of fishes may be influenced by tidal range and cycle, and day-night differences of food availability and behaviors of fishes indirectly. Non-metric multidimensional scaling (nMDS) ordination and analysis of similarity (ANOSIM) results revealed significant differences in species compositions both between day and night, and between spring and neap tide. Eelgrass beds are highly productive marine ecosystem, and thus, our results will contribute to conservation of seagrass ecosystem in the study area.     

Estimation and Projection of Non-Linear Relative Sea-Level Rise in the Seto Inland Sea,Japan

Future sea-level rise (SLR) in and around the Seto Inland Sea (SIS), Japan, is estimated in 2050 and 2100 using ensemble empirical mode decomposition (EEMD) and long-term sea-level records. Ensemble empirical mode decomposition, an adaptive data analysis method, can separate sea-level records into intrinsic mode functions (IMFs) from high to low frequencies and a residual. The residual is considered a non-linear trend in the sea-level records. The mean SLR trend at Tokuyama in the SIS from EEMD is 3.00?mm?y^?1 from 1993 to 2010, which is slightly lower than the recent altimetry-based global rate of 3.3?±?0.4?mm?y^?1 during the same period. Uncertainty in SLR is estimated by considering interdecadal variations in the sea levels. The resulting SLR in 2050 and 2100 for Tokuyama is 0.19?±?0.06?m and 0.56?±?0.18?m, respectively. The stations along the coast of the Pacific Ocean display a greater and more rapid SLR in 2100 compared with other stations in the SIS. The SLR is caused not only by mass and volume changes in the sea water but also by other factors, such as local subsidence, tectonic motion, and river discharge. The non-linear trend of SLR, which is the residual from EEMD, is interpreted as the sum of the local factors that contribute to the sea-level budget.     

Earthquake response analysis of the Hualien soil–structure interaction system based on updated soil properties using forced vibration test data

This paper presents results of the earthquake response analysis on a large‐scale seismic test (LSST) structure which was built at Hualien in Taiwan for an international cooperative research project. The analysis is carried out using a computer program which has been developed based on axisymmetric finite element method incorporating dynamic infinite elements for far‐field soil region and a substructured wave input technique. The non‐linear behaviour of the soil medium is taken into account using an iterative equivalent linearization procedure. Two sets of the soil and structural properties, namely the unified and the FVT‐correlated models, are utilized as the initial linear values. The unified model was provided by a group of experts in charge of the geotechnical experiments, and the correlated model was obtained through a system identification procedure using the forced vibration test (FVT) results by the present authors. Three components of ground accelerations are artificially generated through an averaging process of the Fourier amplitude spectra of the ground accelerations measured near the test structure, and they are used as the control input motions for the earthquake analysis. It has been found that the earthquake responses predicted using the generated control motions and with the FVT‐correlated model as the initial linear properties in the equivalent linearization procedure compare very well with the observed responses. Copyright © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Bouldery deposits along the Kherlen fault,Central Khentey,Mongolia: implications for paleoseismology

Natural Hazards - The assumed Jargalant rockslide is located in Khentey Upland of Mongolia, an area undergoing active tectonic deformation and seismogenic activity but where geomorphic research...     

Kinetics of Cd accumulation and elimination in tissues of juvenile rockfish (Sebastes schlegeli) exposed to dietary Cd

Cadmium (Cd) accumulation and elimination were investigated in the tissues (gill, intestine, kidney, lever and muscle) of juvenile rockfish, Sebastes schlegeli, after sub-chronic dietary Cd exposure (0, 0.5, 5, 25 and 125 mg/kg). No mortality occurred during the sub-chronic exposure to dietary Cd. Specific growth rates of the rockfish estimated by weight and length were significantly different from those of the control, and a significant inverse relationship was observed between weight gain and the exposure concentration of dietary Cd at 25, 125 mg/kg. Cd accumulation in the tissues increased with exposure periods and concentrations for the 60 days of dietary Cd exposure. Cd accumulation in the intestine of rockfish was higher than other tissues, and the order of Cd accumulation in tissues were intestine>kidney approximately liver>gill>muscle. Accumulation factors showed an increase with the exposure period and an inverse relationship between the accumulation factor and the exposure concentrations in the gill, intestine, liver and muscle, but not in kidney. Cd elimination in tissues of rockfish decreased during the 30 days of depuration except kidney and muscle. Intestine showed the fastest elimination rates of Cd at all concentrations compared with other tissues.     

Dolomitization of Carbonate Periplatform Deposit,Machari Formation (Middle to Late Cambrian),Korea

The petrography, the geochemistry and the burial history all constrain the origin and modification history of dolomites in an ancient periplatform carbonate slope deposit,the Machari Formation (late Miclclle to early Late Cambrian),Korea. The formation is mainly composed of rhythmic bedding. laminated to bedded lime mudstone alternating with argillaceous lime mudstone. The rhythmic bedding is a product of the deposition of offshore periplatform ooze and hemipelagic clay on a periplatform slope. This formation also shows minor and intermittent influx of other lithofacies including the bioclastic-peloidal packstone, peloidal wackestone, and intraclasts deposited as turbidites. Five types of dolomite occur in the Machari Formation, whose occurrence.texture and geochemistry provide an insight into origin and modification history.