Soil morphological variations on the Taoyuan Terrace, Northwestern Taiwan: Roles of topography and groundwater

To understand whether soils on the same geomorphic surface have similar properties, this study examines the morphology of soils developed on the 30-kyr-old Taoyuan Terrace, Northwestern Taiwan. Relationships among soil morphology, variations in the groundwater table, and soil forming processes were established based on field investigations and previously published datasets. The soil series in the study area can be grouped into seven types, including three homogeneous groups, two mottled groups, one gley group, and one reworked group. Fifteen hand-core samples collected in the field and borehole data were used to understand spatial variations in soil morphology. The results indicate that soil morphology on the southern Taoyuan Terrace changes systematically from the fore-edge to the back-edge: from red/orange soils to yellow soils, then to mottled soils, and finally to gley soils. The borehole data indicate that the groundwater table is generally parallel to the ground surface but drops significantly near the terrace fore-edge. This pattern matches with the observed soil toposequence, indicating that the pedogenic processes in the study area are mainly controlled by groundwater distribution determined by topography. Although soils on the terrace fore-edge have developed under the well-drained conditions that favor lateritization, at least two distinct soil types (i.e., red and orange) can be observed there, reflecting different geomorphological settings in a paleo-fluvial landscape. This work suggests that geomorphological and hydrological conditions should be examined carefully before using soil morphology for correlating geomorphic surfaces.     

Energy-based probabilistic evaluation of soil liquefaction

This paper presents a seismic wave energy-based method with back-propagation neural networks to assess the liquefaction probability. An empirical equation and Fourier spectrum of acceleration are employed, respectively, to calculate the seismic wave energy. Discriminant analysis is used to determine the equation of the boundary curve separating the data points with and without liquefaction. The proposed method shows capability in evaluating the probability of soil liquefaction based on the boundary curve and a logarithm normal distribution.     

Application of grey correlation method to evaluate potential groundwater recharge sites

Artificial recharge is a practical tool available for increasing the groundwater storage capacity. The efficiency of artificial recharge is related to various hydrogeological factors of the target area. In this study, a variable saturated groundwater flow model, FEMWATER, was used to evaluate the arrival times of recharged water that infiltrates from an artificial recharge pond to the groundwater table under various hydrogeological conditions. Forty-five arrival times were generated by FEMWATER. The relationships between the arrival times and hydrogeological factors used in the simulation of FEMWATER were analyzed by the grey correlation method. The results show the order of importance of the factors as they influence the arrival time. In order from high to low importance, they are α, D _g, θ _e, D _p, K _S and β. D _g and D _p are interpreted as the potential for movement of the recharge water; θ_e is the water storage capacity of soil, and K _S represents the ability of soil to transport water. α and β describe the characteristic curve of the unsaturated soil. The method was applied to evaluate a suitable site for artificial recharge in the Yun-Lin area. Grey correlation analysis was performed to obtain the grey correlation grade using the minimum arrival time as a reference sequence. An index is proposed herein to determine the recharge efficiency of 20 sampling sites. A contour mapping of index values at the 20 sampling sites identified three areas for artificial aquifer recharge in Yun-Lin. Area A in the upper plain is considered more appropriate for groundwater recharge than areas B and C in the coast.     

Redistribution of sea level rise associated with enhanced greenhouse warming: a simple model study

Future sea level rise from thermal expansion of the World Ocean due to global warming has been explored in several recent studies using coupled ocean-atmosphere models. These coupled models show that the heat input by the model atmosphere to the ocean in such an event could be quite non-uniform in different areas of the ocean. One of the most significant effects predicted by some of the models is a weakening of the thermohaline circulation, which normally transports heat poleward. Since the greatest heat input from enhanced greenhouse warming is in the higher latitudes, a weakening of the poleward heat transport effectively redistributes the heat anomaly and the associated sea level rise to lower latitudes. In this study, the mechanism of ocean circulation spindown and heat redistribution was studied in the context of a much simpler, linearized shallow water model. Although the model is much simpler than the three-dimensional ocean circulation models used in the coupled model experiments, and neglects several important physical effects, it has a nearly 10-fold increase in horizontal resolution and clearer dynamical interpretations. The results indicated that advanced signals of sea level rise propagated rapidly through the action of Kelvin and Rossby waves, but the full adjustment toward a more uniform sea level rise took place much more slowly. Long time scales were required to redistribute mass through narrow currents trapped along coasts and the equatorial wave guide. For realistic greenhouse warming, the model showed why the sea level rise due to ocean heating could be far from uniform over the globe and hence difficult to estimate from coastal tide gauge stations.     

Marine 3D seismic volumes from 2D seismic survey with large streamer feathering

Marine Geophysical Research - Strong ocean current influences a marine seismic survey and forces the streamer off-course from the survey line. The sideway drift of the streamer results in that the...     

GPS navigation processing using the quaternion-based divided difference filter

Divided difference filter (DDF) with quaternion-based dynamic process modeling is applied to global positioning system (GPS) navigation. Using techniques similar to those of the unscented Kalman filter (UKF), the DDF uses divided difference approximations of derivatives based on Stirling’s interpolation formula which results in a similar mean but different posterior covariance compared to the extended Kalman filter (EKF) solutions. The second-order divided difference is obtained from the mean and covariance in second-order polynomial approximation. The quaternion-based dynamic model is adopted for avoiding the singularity problems encountered in the Euler angle method and enhancing the computational efficiency. The proposed method is applied to GPS navigation to increase the navigation estimation accuracy at high-dynamic regions while preserving (without sacrificing) the precision at low-dynamic regions. For the illustrated example, the second-order DDF can deliver about 41–82% accuracy improvement as compared to the EKF. Some properties and performance are assessed and compared to those of the EKF and UKF approaches.     

Trophic structure and functioning in a eutrophic and poorly flushed lagoon in southwestern Taiwan

Tapong Bay, a eutrophic and poorly flushed tropical lagoon, supports intensive oyster culture. Using the Ecopath approach and network analysis, a mass-balanced trophic model was constructed to analyze the structure and matter flows within the food web. The lagoon model is comprised of 18 compartments with the highest trophic level of 3.2 for piscivorous fish. The high pedigree index (0.82) reveals the model to be of high quality. The most-prominent living compartment in terms of matter flow and biomass in the lagoon is cultured oysters and bivalves, respectively. The mixed trophic impacts indicate that phytoplankton and periphyton are the most-influential living compartments in the lagoon. Comparative analyses with the eutrophic and well-flushed Chiku Lagoon and non-eutrophic tropical lagoons show that high nutrient loadings might stimulate the growth and accumulation of phytoplankton and periphyton and therefore support high fishery yields. However, net primary production, total biomass, fishery yields per unit area, and mean transfer efficiency of Tapong Bay were remarkably lower than those of Chiku Lagoon. The lower transfer efficiency likely results from the low mortality of cultured oysters and invasive bivalves from predation or the lower density of benthic feeders constrained by the hypoxic bottom water as a result of poor flushing. This might therefore result in a great proportion of flows to detritus. However, the hypoxic bottom water might further reduce the recycling of the entering detritus back into the food web. In contrast to many estuaries and tropical lagoons, poor flushing of this eutrophic tropical lagoon might induce a shift from detritivory to herbivory in the food web.     

A cluster perspective of the development of the deep ocean water industry

This paper explores the practical experiences of the cluster development of the deep ocean water (DOW) industry in the U.S., Japan, and Taiwan. The DOW industry is emerging as a new sector for utilizing diverse applications in the water, aquaculture, agriculture, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, tourism, and energy industries. Porter's perspective of the cluster is used to compare DOW commercialization in the three countries and to analyze their interactions with the economy, society, and technology. Using a multiple case study, this paper presents some implications beyond the geographical proximity, especially the triple-helix of academy, industry, and government within the borderless cluster. Finally, a comprehensive comparison among the three countries is examined to offer implications to managers and policy makers in the DOW industry.     

ISEE: Internet‐based Simulation for Earthquake Engineering—Part I: Database approach

An Internet‐based framework, named Internet‐based Simulation for Earthquake Engineering (ISEE) was developed to facilitate collaborative earthquake engineering experiments performed by multiple laboratories in a network environment. One of the approaches in the ISEE framework, named Database Approach, offers an easy way to perform multi‐site networked collaborative pseudo‐dynamic experiments. The Database Approach uses the Structured Query Language (SQL), a common and standardized computer language used in database management systems, for inter‐laboratory communications. Using the SQL protocol, it is easy to monitor the experiments' progress, access the data, as well as develop additional programs to expand the functions for a networked experiment. This approach offers consistency and durability of selected experimental data both during and after experiments. Two networked pseudo‐dynamic experiments were conducted to demonstrate the feasibility and expansibility of the Database Approach in ISEE. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.