Factors Affecting the Wintering Habitat of Major Fishery Resources in Southwestern Korean Waters

We investigated the temperature and salinity effects on the major fish species in the wintering grounds based on trawl surveys and oceanographic observations in the southwestern waters of Korea during March-early April in 2002-2003. The influence area of warm Kuroshio water was limited to the southwestern area of Korea in 2003 with a range of 7.7-16.3°C, 32.54-34.70 of salinity, wider than that of 2002. The number of fish species and density of major fish species in 2003 were higher than in 2002. Geographical estimation showed high proportions of species number and catches in the areas around Jeju Islands, southwestern waters and the southeastern coast of Korea. Five species; silver pomfret (Pampus echinogaster), hairtail (Trichiurus lepturus), anchovy (Engraulis japonicus), small yellow croaker (Larimichthys polyactis) and yellow goosefish (Lophius litulon) were most abundant, composing above 60% of the total catch in 2002 and 2003. More than 50% of catch in the major fish species were mostly distributed in the range of 9.5-11.0°C of temperature and 33.1-33.9 of salinity. Non-parametric estimation for the major species showed the 1st mode around 10°C and the 2nd mode at 8-9°C in 2002 and 11-14°C in 2003. A m o n g major fish species, hairtail was principally composed of juveniles, and larger individuals were caught in southeastern waters. These results are considered to be helpful for the areabased fishery management strategy for the wintering grounds of the Yellow Sea and coastal waters of Korea.     

Estimates of sediment and nutrient loads in 10 major catchments draining to the Great Barrier Reef during 2006-2009

The Great Barrier Reef (GBR) catchment area has been monitored simultaneously for sediment and nutrient exports from 10 priority catchments discharging into the GBR lagoon between 2006 and 2009. This allows GBR catchment-wide exports to be estimated and spatially compared within a discrete time-frame. Elevated levels of sediment and nutrient exports were recorded in all monitored catchments as compared to pre-European estimates, but vary around previous estimates of mean annual loads. During the period of monitoring, the Burdekin and Fitzroy catchments contributed the highest sediment and nutrient exports, however when loads were normalised for area, these catchments produced the lowest unit yields. In contrast, the highest yields were produced in the wetter and proportionately more intensively cultivated Johnstone, O'Connell, and Pioneer catchments particularly for dissolved nitrogens. This assessment offers the necessary scientific foundation for future monitoring, assessment, and management of sediment and nutrient loads entering the GBR.     

A comparative study for water temperature modelling in a small basin,the Fourchue River,Quebec, Canada

Analysis and forecasting of water temperature are important for water ecological management. The objective of this study is to compare models for water temperature during the summer season for an impounded river. In a case study, we consider hydro-climatic and water temperature data for the Fourchue River (St-Alexandre-de-Kamouraska, Quebec, Canada) between 2011 and 2014. Three different models are applied, which are broadly characterized as deterministic (CEQUEAU), stochastic (Auto-regressive Moving Average with eXogenous variables or ARMAX) and nonlinear (Nonlinear Autoregressive with eXogenous variables or NARX). The efficiency of each model is analysed and compared. The results show that the ARMAX is the best performing water temperature model for the Fourchue River and the CEQUEAU model also simulates water temperature adequately without the overfitting issues that seem to plague the autoregressive models.

EDITOR M.C. Acreman

ASSOCIATE EDITOR R. Hirsch     

Ritz vectors and generation criteria for mode superposition analysis

A generation procedure of Ritz vectors to control the inclusion of static effect and the number of vectors in mode superposition dynamic analysis is presented. The original algorithm of the Ritz vectors¹⁵ is modified to improve stability in the generation procedure and to include the use of static residual. To reject unimportant Ritz vectors, cut-off criteria, which are based on the participation of mass distribution and spatial load distribution, are proposed. Numerical examples are presented to illustrate the effectiveness of the derived Ritz vectors over the eigenvectors and the performance of the cutoff criteria in the mode superposition dynamic analysis.     

A discontinuity in the late Pleistocene alluvial deposits,Hwacheon‐ri,Gyeongju, Korea: Occurrences and paleoenvironmental implication

A sedimentary discontinuity is present in the late Pleistocene alluvial deposits exposed along the cliff in stream side, Gyeongju, Korea. Sedimentological study, Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) age dating, and X‐ray diffraction (XRD), and X‐ray fluorescence spectrometer (XRF) analyses were conducted in order to interpret the origin of the discontinuity surface. Based on the sedimentological study, these deposits can be divided into three distinct stages, in ascending order: (Stage 1) development of a braided stream flowing from south to north and deposition by debris flows from the mountain aside the stream during and/or after deposition of the braided stream; (Stage 2) deposition by intermittent events during a state of stagnation after the abandonment or migration of the previously existed braided stream; and (Stage 3) deposition of gravels from debris flows from the mountain aside the stream. Hornfelsic gravels are common in Stage 1, whereas andesitic gravels are predominant in Stage 3, suggesting the provenance change from Stage 1 to Stage 3. The discontinuity surface is laterally extensive and marked by a distinct carbonaceous dark grey horizon between Stage 2 and Stage 3. It is characteristic that rootlets mineralized by vivianite are present, and iron‐oxide crusts are cutting across irregularly below the discontinuity surface. It is thus interpreted that the shift of depositional environment from an alluvial plain (Stage 2) (125 ka) to an alluvial fan (Stage 3) (94–55 ka) was an alluvial response to sea level change from the interglacial to the glacial. The development of iron‐oxide crusts and diagenetic vivianite in the discontinuity surface suggests humid condition persisted during the paleoclimatic shift from the last interglacial to the last glacial stages.     

Chemical and physical weathering in a hot‐arid,tectonically active alluvial system of Anza Borrego Desert,California

Investigation of chemical and physical weathering of bedrock and alluvial sediment in the Anza Borrego Desert, California, sheds light on weathering processes in hot‐arid systems and clarifies interpretations of climate from alluvial sediment. All of the alluvial sediment in the study area emanates from Cretaceous tonalite of the Peninsular Range, enabling exploration of the effects of external variables – climate, transport distance and tectonics – on the physical and chemical properties of the sediment. Chemical weathering in this area is dominated by plagioclase alteration observed in both bedrock outcrops and sediment, evinced most clearly by changes in the Eu anomaly. Biotite chemical weathering, manifested by interlayer K⁺ loss, is not evident in bedrock, but clearly observed in the sediment. Despite the weak intensity of chemical weathering (Chemical Index of Alteration = 56 to 62), fine‐grained (<63 μm) sediment displays a clear weathering trend in A–CN–K space and contains up to 25% clay minerals. Physical abrasion and grain‐size reduction in biotite during transport predominates in the sediment, whereas physical (insolation) weathering affecting bedrock is inferred from estimates of differential thermal expansion of mineral phases in response to extreme temperature changes in the study area. Chemical alteration and Brunauer–Emmett–Teller surface area both increase within the active Elsinore fault zone at the distal end of the depositional transect, reflecting tectonic‐induced fracturing and associated accelerated weathering. Extensive fracturing, together with a more humid Pleistocene climate, probably facilitated in situ bedrock weathering, preceding arid alluvial deposition in the Holocene. This study demonstrates that both climate and tectonic processes can affect chemical and physical weathering, resulting in alteration of plagioclase, leaching of K⁺ from biotite in the sediment and formation of clay minerals, even in hot, arid systems.     

Evolution and Sedimentation Mechanisms of Estuarine Beach in the Nakdong River Estuary,Korea: Natural and Human Impact

Ocean Science Journal - Dadae Beach located in the Nakdong River estuary has been continuously evolving as the result of natural and anthropogenetic activities. Due to the geographic...     

Effects of several salt marsh plants on mouse spleen and thymus cell proliferation using mtt assay

In the present study, we have tested the effects of 21 salt marsh plants on cell proliferation of mouse immune cells (spleen and thymus) using MTT assay in culture. The methanolic extracts of six salt marsh plants (Rosa rugosa, Ixeris tamagawaensis, Artemisia capillaris, Tetragonia tetragonoides, Erigeron annus, and Glehnia littoralis) showed very powerful suppressive effects of mouse immune cell death and significant activities of cell proliferationin vitro. Especially, the methanolic extract ofRosa rugosa was found to have fifteen times compared to the control treatment, demonstrating that Rosa rugosa may have a potent stimulation effect on immune cell proliferation. These results suggest that several salt marsh plants includingRosa rugosa could be useful for further study as an immunomodulating agent.     

Temporal, Spatial and Geochemical Discriminations of Granitoids in South Korea

Abstract: Five groups of the Phanerozoic granitoids in South Korea can be deduced from their temporal and spatial distributions: (1) Jurassic granitoids in the Gyeonggi massif, (2) Permo-Jurassic granitoids in the Ogcheon belt, (3) Permo-Jurassic granitoids in the Yeongnam massif, (4) Cretaceous granitoids in the Ogcheon belt, and (5) Cretaceous granitoids in the Gyeongsang basin. Though the granitoids of each group generally show calc-alkaline and orogenic natures, the petrological, geochemical and genetical features are different with each other. The Permo-Jurassic granitoids in the Ogcheon belt have lower contents of Al₂O₃, Fe₂O₃, CaO, P₂O₅, but higher of FeO, FeOT, MgO, K₂O than those in the Yeongnam massif. From higher feature of K₂O, Na₂O+K₂O and K₂O/Na₂O, the Ogcheon belt seems to have been located at closer continent side relative to the Yeongnam massif during Permo-Jurassic time. From lower values of Fe₂O₃/FeO and magnetic susceptibility the granitoids of the Ogcheon belt had been solidified under more reducing environment than those of the Yeongnam massif. The Cretaceous granitoids in the Ogcheon belt have lower contents of TiO₂, Fe₂O₃, FeO, FeOT, CaO and P₂O₅, but higher of MgO, K₂O, Na₂O+K₂O and K₂O/Na₂O than those in the Gyeongsang basin. This feature indicates that the Ogcheon belt would correspond to the continental environment of magma genesis during Cretaceous time. Higher values of Fe₂O₃/FeO and magnetic susceptibility in the Cretaceous granitoids in the Gyeongsang basin suggest that the granitoids had been solidified under highly oxidizing environment. From the particular chemical features of K₂O, Na₂O+K₂O and K₂O/Na₂O, the Permo-Jurassic granitoids in the Ogcheon belt, the Yeongnam massif as well as the Cretaceous ones in the Gyeongsang basin can be categorized to the continental margin type granite. The Jurassic granitoids in the Gyeonggi massif are possibly of collision type, and the Cretaceous granitoids in the Ogcheon belt of post–orogenic, intra–conti–nent type. The Jurassic granitoids in the Gyeonggi massif had been possibly generated by crustal melting during the collision of Gyeonggi massif to the northern Pyeongnam basin block. The Cretaceous granitoids in the Ogcheon belt had been emplaced at the hinterland of the continental margin during post-orogenic stage of the Honam Shear Zone. The Cretaceous granitoids in the Gyeongsang basin are often compared with Japanese Cretaceous?Paleogene granitoids in their geochemical and genetical natures. For the granitoid composition, the granitoids in the Gyeongsang basin are higher in Fe₂O₃, Fe₂O₃/FeO, Na₂O, K₂O, Na₂O+K₂O and K₂O/Na₂O, but lower in Al₂O₃, FeO, MnO, CaO and P₂O₅ than the Japanese granitoids. The contents of TiO₂, FeOT and MgO are similar in both granitoids. This geochemical contrast would imply that the Cretaceous granitoid magmas in the Gyeongsang basin had been originated at closer place to the continent side under more tensional field, and solidified under more oxidizing environment than the coeval Japanese granitoid magmas.     

A GIS-based logistic regression model in rock-fall susceptibility mapping along a mountainous road: Salavat Abad case study, Kurdistan, Iran

This study describes the application of logistic regression to rock-fall susceptibility mapping along 11?km of a mountainous road on the Salavat Abad saddle, in southwest Kurdistan, Iran. To determine the factors influencing rock-falls, data layers of slope degree, slope aspect, slope curvature, elevation, distance to road, distance to fault, lithology, and land use were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. The results are shown as rock-fall susceptibility maps. A spatial database, which included 68 sites (34 rock-fall point cells with value of 1 and 34 no rock-fall point cells with value of 0) was developed and analyzed using a Geographic Information System, GIS. The results are shown as four classes of rock-fall susceptibility. In this study, distance to fault, lithology, slope curvature, slope degree, and distance to road were found to be the most important factors affecting rock-fall. It was concluded that about 76?% of the study area can be classified as having moderate and high susceptibility classes. Rock-fall point cells were used to verify results of the rock-fall susceptibility map using success curve rate and the area under the curve. The verification results showed that the area under the curve for rock-fall susceptibility map is 77.57?%. The results from this study demonstrated that the use of a logistic regression model within a GIS framework is useful and suitable for rock-fall susceptibility mapping. The rock-fall susceptibility map can be used to reduce susceptibility associated with rock-fall.