NOAA Weather Radio (NWR) – A Coastal Solution to Tsunami Alert and Notification

The Washington State/Local Tsunami Work Group adopted the NOAA Weather Radio All-Hazards Warning System to warn citizens quickly and effectively of not only tsunami hazards but also other natural or man-made hazards. In concert with an array of deep ocean tsunami detectors, land-based seismic sensors, and warning messages issued by the tsunami warning centers, NWR provides a means to expeditiously get critical decision-making information to emergency managers, elected officials, and first responders. To implement the NWR strategy effectively, a partnership was developed to add a repeater to the NWR system to provide complete coverage to the coast of Washington and to shipping lanes off the coast. The Work Group also recognized the need to disseminate time critical hazard information on tsunamis to the public on beaches and in high traffic areas, so it developed a new notification system, with the first prototype installed on 2 July 2003 in Ocean Shores, Washington. A public education program also was developed to improve the impacted communities understanding of the tsunami hazard, the warning system, and actions they should take if a tsunami occurs.     

The role of soil in the collapse of 18 piers of Hanshin Expressway in the Kobe earthquake

An investigation is presented of the collapse of a 630 m segment (Fukae section) of the elevated Hanshin Expressway during the 1995 Kobe earthquake. The earthquake has, from a geotechnical viewpoint, been associated with extensive liquefactions, lateral soil spreading, and damage to waterfront structures. Evidence is presented that soil–structure interaction (SSI) in non‐liquefied ground played a detrimental role in the seismic performance of this major structure. The bridge consisted of single circular concrete piers monolithically connected to a concrete deck, founded on groups of 17 piles in layers of loose to dense sands and moderate to stiff clays. There were 18 spans in total, all of which suffered a spectacular pier failure and transverse overturning. Several factors associated with poor structural design have already been identified. The scope of this work is to extend the previous studies by investigating the role of soil in the collapse. The following issues are examined: (1) seismological and geotechnical information pertaining to the site; (2) free‐field soil response; (3) response of foundation‐superstructure system; (4) evaluation of results against earlier studies that did not consider SSI. Results indicate that the role of soil in the collapse was multiple: First, it modified the bedrock motion so that the frequency content of the resulting surface motion became disadvantageous for the particular structure. Second, the compliance of soil and foundation altered the vibrational characteristics of the bridge and moved it to a region of stronger response. Third, the compliance of the foundation increased the participation of the fundamental mode of the structure, inducing stronger response. It is shown that the increase in inelastic seismic demand in the piers may have exceeded 100% in comparison with piers fixed at the base. These conclusions contradict a widespread view of an always‐beneficial role of seismic SSI. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Pleistocene eolian features in southeastern Maryland and Chesapeake Bay region indicate strong WNW–NW winds accompanied growth of the Laurentide Ice Sheet

Inactive parabolic dunes are present in southeastern Maryland, USA, along the east bank of the Potomac River. More elongate and finer-grained eolian deposits and paha-like ridges characterize the Potomac River–Patuxent River upland and the west side of Chesapeake Bay. These ridges are streamlined erosional features, veneered with eolian sediment and interspersed with dunes in the low-relief headwaters of Potomac- and Patuxent-river tributaries. Axis data for the dunes and ridges indicate formation by WNW–NW winds. Optically stimulated luminescence and radiocarbon age data suggest dune formation from  33–15 ka, agreeing with the 30–13 ka ages Denny, C.S., Owens, J.P., Sirkin, L., Rubin, M., 1979. The Parsonburg Sand in the central Delmarva Peninsula, Maryland and Delaware. U.S. Geol. Surv. Prof. Pap. 1067-B, 16 pp. suggested for eolian deposits east of Chesapeake Bay. Age range and paleowind direction(s) for eolian features in the Bay region approximate those for late Wisconsin loess in the North American midcontinent. Formation of midcontinent loess and Bay-region eolian features was coeval with rapid growth of the Laurentide Ice Sheet and strong cooling episodes (δ¹⁸O minima) evident in Greenland ice cores. Age and paleowind-direction coincidence, for eolian features in the midcontinent and Bay region, indicates strong mid-latitude WNW–NW winds for several hundred kilometers south of the Laurentide glacial terminus that were oblique to previously simulated anticyclonic winds for the last glacial maximum.     

The importance of changing oceanography in controlling late Quaternary carbonate sedimentation on a high-energy, tropical, oceanic ramp: north-western Australia

The North West Shelf is an ocean‐facing carbonate ramp that lies in a warm‐water setting adjacent to an arid hinterland of moderate to low relief. The sea floor is strongly affected by cyclonic storms, long‐period swells and large internal tides, resulting in preferentially accumulating coarse‐grained sediments. Circulation is dominated by the south‐flowing, low‐salinity Leeuwin Current, upwelling associated with the Indian Ocean Gyre, seaward‐flowing saline bottom waters generated by seasonal evaporation, and flashy fluvial discharge. Sediments are palimpsest, a variable mixture of relict, stranded and Holocene grains. Relict intraclasts, both skeletal and lithic, interpreted as having formed during sea‐level highstands of Marine Isotope Stages (MIS) 3 and 4, are now localized to the mid‐ramp. The most conspicuous stranded particles are ooids and peloids, which ¹⁴C dating shows formed at 15·4–12·7 Ka, in somewhat saline waters during initial stages of post‐Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) sea‐level rise. It appears that initiation of Leeuwin Current flow with its relatively less saline, but oceanic waters arrested ooid formation such that subsequent benthic Holocene sediment is principally biofragmental, with sedimentation localized to the inner ramp and a ridge of planktic foraminifera offshore. Inner‐ramp deposits are a mixture of heterozoan and photozoan elements. Depositional facies reflect episodic environmental perturbation by riverine‐derived sediments and nutrients, resulting in a mixed habitat of oligotrophic (coral reefs and large benthic foraminifera) and mesotrophic (macroalgae and bryozoans) indicators. Holocene mid‐ramp sediment is heterozoan in character, but sparse, most probably because of the periodic seaward flow of saline bottom waters generated by coastal evaporation. Holocene outer‐ramp sediment is mainly pelagic, veneering shallow‐water sediments of Marine Isotope Stage 2, including LGM deposits. Phosphate accumulations at ≈ 200 m water depth suggest periodic upwelling or Fe‐redox pumping, whereas enhanced near‐surface productivity, probably associated with the interaction between the Leeuwin Current and Indian Ocean surface water, results in a linear ridge of pelagic sediment at ≈ 140 m water depth. This ramp depositional system in an arid climate has important applications for the geological record: inner‐ramp sediments can contain important heterozoan elements, mid‐ramp sediments with bedforms created by internal tides can form in water depths exceeding 50 m, saline outflow can arrest or dramatically slow mid‐ramp sedimentation mimicking maximum flooding intervals, and outer‐ramp planktic productivity can generate locally important fine‐grained carbonate sediment bodies. Changing oceanography during sea‐level rise can profoundly affect sediment composition, sedimentation rate and packaging.     

Suspended sediment transport from the Gironde estuary (France) onto the adjacent continental shelf

Current velocity and suspended sediment concentration measurements at anchor stations in the downstream extremity of the Gironde estuary indicate that during periods of high river discharge, a significant amount of suspended sediment is transported out of the estuary onto the adjacent continental shelf. The vertical profile of the residual (non-tidal) suspended sediment flux is similar to that of the residual current velocity, with a net upstream flux near the bottom and an overlying seaward-directed transport. The overall, depth-integrated result is a net seaward transport of suspended sediment out of the estuary. It appears that this net seaward transport varies directly with tidal amplitude.Aerial photography and water sampling indicate that during high river inflow, the downstream extremity of the turbidity maximum extends onto the continental shelf at ebb tide. The tidal and coastal current patterns of the inlet and inner shelf induce a northward transport of the turbid estuarine water, and at each tidal cycle, a certain amount of suspended sediment leaves the estuary; part of this sediment is deposited in a silt and clay zone on the continental shelf.     

The Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM): Early Observations

This paper presents and interprets observations obtained by the Spectral Irradiance Monitor (SIM) on the Solar Radiation and Climate Experiment (SORCE) over a time period of several solar rotations during the declining phase of solar cycle 23. The time series of visible and infrared (IR) bands clearly show significant wavelength dependence of these variations. At some wavelengths the SIM measurements are qualitatively similar to the Mg II core-to-wing ratio, but in the visible and IR they show character similar to the Total Solar Irradiance (TSI) variations. Despite this overall similarity, different amplitudes, phases, and temporal features are observed at various wavelengths. The TSI can be explained as a complex sum of the various wavelength components. The SIM observations are interpreted with the aid of solar images that exhibit a mixture of solar activity features. Qualitative analysis shows how the sunspots, faculae, plage, and active network provide distinct contributions to the spectral irradiance at different wavelengths, and ultimately, how these features combine to produce the observed TSI variations. Most of the observed variability appears to be qualitatively explained by solar surface features related directly to the magnetic activity.     

Storm runoff and sediment losses from forest clearcutting and stand re‐establishment with best management practices in East Texas,USA

Nine small (2·5 ha) and four large (70–135 ha) watersheds were instrumented in 1999 to evaluate the effects of intensive silvicultural practices with best management practices (BMPs) on runoff and stream water quality in the Western Gulf Coastal Plain of East Texas, USA. Two treatments were implemented in 2002: a conventional treatment with clearcutting and herbicide site preparation, and an intensive treatment that added subsoiling, fertilization and a release herbicide application. Watershed effects were compared with results from a previously conducted study on the same watersheds in 1981, in which two combinations of harvesting and mechanical site preparation without BMPs were evaluated. Due to the reduction in evapotranspirational demand, total storm runoff increased on all six treated small watersheds following harvest by 0·94 to 13·73 cm in 2003. Runoff increases were not statistically significant on the treated large watersheds. Total first‐year sediment loss was significantly greater on two of the conventional and one of the intensive small watersheds. The greatest first‐year increase was 540·1 kg ha^?1, only one‐fifth of that observed on these watersheds from shearing and windrowing without BMPs in 1981. First‐year sediment loss was significantly greater on the intensive large watershed following harvest, but not on the conventional large watershed. These data suggest that BMPs are very effective in reducing potential water quality impacts from intensive silvicultural practices. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characteristics and OSL minimum ages of relict fluvial deposits near Sossus Vlei,Tsauchab River,Namibia, and a regional climate record for the last 30 ka

The present end‐point of the Tsauchab River is at Sossus Vlei, 30 km into the Namib Sand Sea. Interdune deposits in three depressions west and southwest of the vlei include channel and interdune lithofacies associations but no deposits typical of river end‐points or of groundwater seepage into interdune areas. The two lithofacies associations show that the Tsauchab River extended further into the sand sea in the past. It had a well‐developed channel and a higher flow than today that caused flooding of adjacent interdune areas. OSL 4‐mm aliquot minimum ages indicate that the Tsauchab River reached 2–3 km beyond its present end‐point at ca. 25 ka and ca. 9–7 ka, and that the river was more active from 0.9–0.3 ka. The eastward migration of the river end‐point since ca. 7 ka suggests a reduction in flood magnitude accompanied by the gradual invasion of the Sossus Vlei area by dunes. The regional data indicate an additional wet interval at ca. 15 ka that is so far not recorded in the Sossus area. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.