Concentrations of 137Cs, 90Sr, 108m Ag, 239+240 Pu and atom ratio of 240Pu/239Pu in tanner crabs, Chionoecetes japonicus and Chionoecetes opilio collected around Japan

The anthropogenic radionuclides, ¹³⁷Cs, ⁹⁰Sr, ^108mAg, ^239+240Pu, were measured in two Chionoecetes species, red queen crab (Chionoecetes japonicus) and snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) collected around Japan during 1996–2007. There was no increase in the concentrations of these radionuclides and no large variation of the atom ratio of ²⁴⁰Pu/²³⁹Pu during this research period. These results indicated that the source of the radionuclides was not the radioactive wastes dumped by the former USSR and Russia and originated from past nuclear weapon tests. The higher atom ratio in the crab species than that from global fallout would be contributed by the Pacific Proving Grounds close-in fallout. The variability of the concentration of radionuclides in the crab species would result from the variability of the composition and quantity in the diet. However, the decrease in the concentration of radionuclides with sampling depth would depend on the concentration in the seawater and diet.     

2009年日本骏河湾地震后东海俯冲带上应力转移之探讨

日本西南部位于菲律宾海俯冲板块和欧亚上冲板块交界处。1944年和1946年,东南海和南海分别发生一次8级大逆冲型地震,但与该板块边界相邻的东海却仍保持闭锁状态[1]。因此,东海地区有可能会发生一次大逆冲型地震。2009年,骏河湾发生6.4级地震,地震位于菲律宾海俯冲板块内,靠近东海地区。在此,我们利用断层滑动模型来研究由骏河湾地震引起的应力变化[2]对东海地区的影响。我们发现在这次地震之后,板块边界的地震活动发生率有所上升。东海地区推测的强闭锁地段大都位于应力逐渐增大的地区。其中一小块闭锁地段的破裂——发生在地震应力达到临界值之后——就会引起整个东海地区的破裂,最终引发一场大逆冲型地震。     

Soil bentonite wall protects foundation from thrust faulting: analyses and experiment

When seismic thrust faults emerge on the ground surface,they are particularly damaging to buildings,bridges and lifelines that lie on the rupture path.To protect a structure founded on a rigid raft,a thick diaphragm-type soil bentonite wall(SBW) is installed in front of and near the foundation,at sufficient depth to intercept the propagating fault rupture.Extensive numerical analyses,verified against reduced–scale(1 g) split box physical model tests,reveal that such a wall,thanks to its high deformability and low shear resistance,"absorbs" the compressive thrust of the fault and forces the rupture to deviate upwards along its length.As a consequence,the foundation is left essentially intact.The effectiveness of SBW is demonstrated to depend on the exact location of the emerging fault and the magnitude of the fault offset.When the latter is large,the unprotected foundation experiences intolerable rigid-body rotation even if the foundation structural distress is not substantial.     

Dominant pulse simulation of near fault ground motions

In this study, a new mathematical model is developed composed of two parts, including harmonic and polynomial expressions for simulating the dominant velocity pulse of near fault ground motions. Based on a proposed velocity function, the corresponding expressions for the ground acceleration and displacement time histories are also derived. The proposed model is then fitted using some selected pulse-like near fault ground motions in the Next Generation Attenuation (NGA) project library. The new model is not only simple in form but also simulates the long-period portion of actual velocity near fault records with a high level of precision. It is shown that the proposed model-based elastic response spectra are compatible with the near fault records in the neighborhood of the prevailing frequency of the pulse. The results indicate that the proposed model adequately simulates the components of the time histories. Finally, the energy of the proposed pulse was compared with the energy of the actual record to confirm the compatibility.     

Ice- and cryogel-soil composites in water-retaining elements in embankment dams constructed in cold regions

There are a number of serious problems connected with building and repairing water-retaining elements in embankment dams in cold regions. One of them is the difficulty in finding inexpensive clay materials with the necessary structural properties and using them in the winter. Another is the cracks that appear in the upper part of a dam when the core freezes to the banks, and leakage along the cracks threatens to destroy the dam. Still another is the process of erosion at the bottom of the core which may occur through fissures in the rock foundation of a dam and in transport constructions. Also, the behaviour of water-retaining elements during earthquakes is unreliable. All of these problems can be solved by using ice- and cryogel-soil composites created by cryotropic gel formation (CGF). Our laboratory investigations demonstrate that the materials proposed for water-retaining elements have the necessary permeable, plastic, thermophysical, and strength properties to solve all of these problems. Certain constructions of water-retaining elements which may prove to be both safe and cost-effective are proposed. However, these ice- and cryogel-soil composites need to be field-validated before they are used in dams and transport structures in cold regions.     

The Impact of Agricultural Practices in China on Land-Atmosphere Interactions

Human-induced land use changes and the resulting alterations in vegetation features are major but poorly recognized drivers of regional climatic patterns.In order to investigate the impacts of anthropogenically-induced seasonal vegetation cover changes on regional climate in China,harmonic analysis is applied to 1982-2000 National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration(NOAA) Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer(AVVHRR)-derived normalized difference vegetation index(NDVI) time series(ten day interval data).For two climatic divisions of South China,it is shown that the first harmonic term is in phase with air temperature,while the second and third harmonics are in phase with agricultural cultivation.The Penman-Monteith Equation and the Complementary Relationship Areal Evapotranspiration(CRAE) model suggest that monthly mean evapotranspiration is out of phase with temperature and precipitation in regions with signiffcant second or third harmonics.Finally,seasonal vegetation cover changes associated with agricultural cultivation are identiffed:for cropped areas,the temperature and precipitation time series have a single maximum value,while the monthly evapotranspiration time series has a bimodal distribution.It is hypothesized that multi-cropping causes the land surface albedo to sharply increase during harvesting,thereby altering the energy distribution ratio and contributing to observed seasonal vegetation cover changes.     

Induction of tributyltin-binding protein type 2 in Japanese flounder, Paralichthys olivaceus, by exposure to tributyltin-d27

In this study, individual Japanese flounder were intraperitoneally injected with 2 μg tributyltin-d27 (TBT-d27) fish⁻¹. Blood samples were collected on day 7 after injection. TBT-binding protein types 1 and 2 (TBT-bp1, -bp2) in the blood serum were quantified by western blotting analysis. As a result, the concentration of TBT-bp2 in TBT-d27 treated group increased to 220% of that in the solvent control, whereas the TBT-bp1 concentration decreased to 65% of that in the solvent control. Additionally, a positive relationship between the concentrations of TBT-bp2 and TBT was observed in blood sera of wild and cultured flounder. We suggest that TBT-bp2 is produced in response to TBT exposure and may play an important role in fish physiology.     

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in commercial fish and lobsters from the coastal waters of Madagascar following an oil spill in August 2009

Concentrations of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were determined in species of commercial fish and lobsters following an oil-spill just off the protected Madagascan coastline. Samples were collected along the coastline within and outside the affected area. Summed PAH concentrations ranged from 1.9 μg kg⁻¹ to 63 μg kg⁻¹ wet weight, but with no higher molecular weight PAHs (>202 Da) being detected. All concentrations of benzo[a]pyrene, benz[a]anthracene and dibenz[a,h]anthracene were <0.1 μg kg⁻¹ wet weight, well within the EU and UK set limits for the protection of human health. Additionally, samples were calculated as the benzo[a]pyrene toxic equivalency quotient (TEQ) and found to be well below the level of concern in relation to health of human consumers. Evaluation of the biota PAH data indicated the origin of PAH was predominantly petrogenic with >80% arising from oil sources. Profile studies indicate a low-level multisource petrogenic contamination probably representing a pre-spill background for the area.     

Organic micropollutants in marine plastics debris from the open ocean and remote and urban beaches

To understand the spatial variation in concentrations and compositions of organic micropollutants in marine plastic debris and their sources, we analyzed plastic fragments (∼10 mm) from the open ocean and from remote and urban beaches. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs), dichloro-diphenyl-trichloroethane and its metabolites (DDTs), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), alkylphenols and bisphenol A were detected in the fragments at concentrations from 1 to 10,000 ng/g. Concentrations showed large piece-to-piece variability. Hydrophobic organic compounds such as PCBs and PAHs were sorbed from seawater to the plastic fragments. PCBs are most probably derived from legacy pollution. PAHs showed a petrogenic signature, suggesting the sorption of PAHs from oil slicks. Nonylphenol, bisphenol A, and PBDEs came mainly from additives and were detected at high concentrations in some fragments both from remote and urban beaches and the open ocean.