Generating interface waves using a freely falling, instrumentedsource

In recent years, interface waves such as the Scholte wave have become important tools in the study of the geoacoustic properties of near-bottom seafloor sediments. Traditionally, these waves have been generated by explosive or pneumatic sources deployed at or near the seafloor and monitored by ocean-bottom seismographs or geophone arrays. While these sources generate the requisite interface waves, they also produce higher frequency compressional waves in the water and sediment that tend to contaminate the surface wave and make inversion of the data difficult in the near field. In this paper, a new source consisting of a freely falling projectile instrumented with an accelerometer is described. When the projectile impacts the bottom, the exact time history of the vertical force applied to the sediment is known and therefore may be convolved with the transfer function of a sediment geoacoustic model to produce accurate synthetic seismograms. Moreover, the vertical force applied to the seafloor is very efficient in generating surface wave motion while producing very little compressional wave energy so that the near-field signals are much more easily analyzed. An example of the use of the new source is presented including inversion of the received signals to obtain shear-wave velocity and attenuation as a function of depth in the near bottom sediments at a shallow-water site     

Dissolved organic carbon dynamics in two streams draining forested catchments at loch ard,Scotland

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) was measured at four or eight hour intervals between mid-1989 and mid-1991 in two catchments in west central Scotland. The experimental catchment had been recently clear-felled and the control remained under forest. The amount of DOC varied during individual storm events following the stream hydro-graph. Maximum variations were found in the summer half-year and in the clear-felled catchment. There was also evidence of the exhaustion of DOC in the later events of a sequence. Differences between the catchments were related to catchment characteristics and to land-use change. The reduced magnitude of variation in DOC with discharge in the control stream was due to the influence of a wetland area through which the stream flowed. The mean DOC concentrations were similar in the two streams and annual exports were 15 g m^?2 from the control and 16g m^?2 from the felled catchment. The stream draining the clear-felled catchment had greater high flow DOC concentrations in the summer half-year, probably due to the effect of greater mean summer temperatures on DOC release and of the greater supply of organic debris in the stream channel.     

Reliability assessment of serviceability performance of braced retaining walls using a neural network approach

In urban environments, one major concern with deep excavations in soft clay is the potentially large ground deformations in and around the excavation. Excessive movements can damage adjacent buildings and utilities. There are many uncertainties associated with the calculation of the ultimate or serviceability performance of a braced excavation system. These include the variabilities of the loadings, geotechnical soil properties, and engineering and geometrical properties of the wall. A risk‐based approach to serviceability performance failure is necessary to incorporate systematically the uncertainties associated with the various design parameters. This paper demonstrates the use of an integrated neural network–reliability method to assess the risk of serviceability failure through the calculation of the reliability index. By first performing a series of parametric studies using the finite element method and then approximating the non‐linear limit state surface (the boundary separating the safe and ‘failure’ domains) through a neural network model, the reliability index can be determined with the aid of a spreadsheet. Two illustrative examples are presented to show how the serviceability performance for braced excavation problems can be assessed using the reliability index. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A 20‐ka climate record from Central Himalayan loess deposits

The southwest monsoon that dominated Central Himalaya has preserved loessic silt deposits preserved in patches that are proximal to periglacial areas. The occurrence of such silts suggests contemporary prevalence of cold and dry northwesterly winds. Field stratigraphy, geochemistry, mineral magnetism, infrared stimulated luminescence (IRSL) and radiocarbon dating has enabled reconstruction of an event chronology during the past 20 ka. Three events of loess accretion could be identified. The first two events of loess deposition occurred betweem 20 and 9 ka and were separated by a phase of moderate weathering. Pedogenesis at the end of this event gave rise to a well‐developed soil that was bracketed around 9 to > 4 ka. This was followed by the third phase of loess accretion that occurred around 4 to > 1 ka. Episodes of loess deposition and soil formation are interpreted in terms of changes in the strength of the Indian southwest monsoon. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The importance of oxygen isotope provenance in relation to solute content of bulk meltwaters at Imersuaq Glacier,West Greenland

Stable oxygen isotope analysis and measurement of several dissolved cations and anions of bulk meltwater samples have provided information about the hydrochemical environment of the glacial hydrological system at Imersuaq Glacier, an outlet tongue from the Greenland ice‐sheet, West Greenland. The samples were collected at frequent intervals during the period 20–28 July 2000 in a small (<20 L s^?1) englacial meltwater outlet at the glacier margin. The results document the following findings: (i) a marked diurnal variation of δ¹⁸O is related to the composition of oxygen isotope provenances, mainly near‐marginal local superimposed ice and basal up‐sheared ice further up‐glacier; (ii) a relationship is seen between all base cations (Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺, Mg²⁺), SO₄^2? and δ¹⁸O, indicating that solute acquisition is provided by solid–solution contact with the up‐sheared ice—as the relationship with Cl^? is weak the influence of seasalt‐derived solutes is small in the area; (iii) when the melt rate is high, two diurnal maxima of δ¹⁸O values and solute concentrations are measured, and it is suggested that a snow meltwater component is responsible for the second maximum of δ¹⁸O—a short residence time leads to a delayed decrease in ion concentrations. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

The Preboreal climate reversal and a subsequent solar‐forced climate shift

Accurate chronologies are essential for linking palaeoclimate archives. Carbon‐14 wiggle‐match dating was used to produce an accurate chronology for part of an early Holocene peat sequence from the Borchert (The Netherlands). Following the Younger Dryas–Preboreal transition, two climatic shifts could be inferred. Around 11 400 cal. yr BP the expansion of birch (Betula) forest was interrupted by a dry continental phase with dominantly open grassland vegetation, coeval with the PBO (Preboreal Oscillation), as observed in the GRIP ice core. At 11 250 cal. yr BP a sudden shift to a humid climate occurred. This second change appears to be contemporaneous with: (i) a sharp increase of atmospheric ¹⁴C; (ii) a temporary decline of atmospheric CO₂; and (iii) an increase in the GRIP ¹⁰Be flux. The close correspondence with excursions of cosmogenic nuclides points to a decline in solar activity, which may have forced the changes in climate and vegetation at around 11 250 cal. yr BP. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A model for the constant-head pumping test conducted in vertically fractured media

An analytical model for the constant-head pumping test is developed for a partially penetrating well that has a finite thickness skin, and intersects a single vertical fracture. In the model, the fracture is fully confined and flow occurs only in the fracture. The model is developed using Laplace transform and finite Fourier transform methods. The model is to be used for analysing well test data from vertically fractured media and for verifying numerical models. Dimensionless curves are used to study the effects of a finite thickness skin and a partially penetrating wellbore. In the presence of a finite thickness skin, or a partially penetrating wellbore, a typical flow response for the constant-head pumping test has three distinct periods of flow corresponding to small-, intermediate- and large-time. Small- and large-time approximations are presented for the model. For tests where the wellbore is fully penetrating, or the partial penetration ratio is known, these approximations can be used to analyse field data.