How hydrological factors initiate instability in a model sandy slope

Knowledge of the mechanisms of rain‐induced shallow landslides can improve the prediction of their occurrence and mitigate subsequent sediment disasters. Here, we examine an artificial slope's subsurface hydrology and propose a new slope stability analysis that includes seepage force and the down‐slope transfer of excess shear forces. We measured pore water pressure and volumetric water content immediately prior to a shallow landslide on an artificial sandy slope of 32°: The direction of the subsurface flow shifted from downward to parallel to the slope in the deepest part of the landslide mass, and this shift coincided with the start of soil displacement. A slope stability analysis that was restricted to individual segments of the landslide mass could not explain the initiation of the landslide; however, inclusion of the transfer of excess shear forces from up‐slope to down‐slope segments improved drastically the predictability. The improved stability analysis revealed that an unstable zone expanded down‐slope with an increase in soil water content, showing that the down‐slope soil initially supported the unstable up‐slope soil; destabilization of this down‐slope soil was the eventual trigger of total slope collapse. Initially, the effect of apparent soil cohesion was the most important factor promoting slope stability, but seepage force became the most important factor promoting slope instability closer to the landslide occurrence. These findings indicate that seepage forces, controlled by changes in direction and magnitude of saturated and unsaturated subsurface flows, may be the main cause of shallow landslides in sandy slopes. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characteristics of precipitation in northern Mauritania and its links with sea surface temperature

This paper deals with the periodic fluctuation of precipitation at three meteorological stations (Atar, Chenguitti, and Akjoujt) in the Adrar and Inchiri provinces in northern Mauritania and its links with sea surface temperature (SST). Trends for these three meteorological stations were evaluated using the Mann–Kendall (MK) nonparametric test, regression analysis, and autocorrelation for persistence analysis. The MK test showed a significant decreasing trend for Akjoujt and an insignificant trend for the other rainfall time series. However, the decreasing linear regression trends were highly significant for the different time series. On the other hand, persistence analysis indicated the presence of a linear Markov type. The cycles found by power spectrum analysis ranged from 0.5 years to about 11 years. The possibility of a connection between precipitation in this region and sunspot numbers was suggested. SST of the Atlantic Ocean, Indian Ocean, and Mediterranean Sea have significant cross-correlations with precipitation in the study area. The El Niño-Southern Oscillation effect was found to be marginal.     

Tsunami damage to coastal defences and buildings in the March 11th 2011 M w 9.0 Great East Japan earthquake and tsunami

On March 11th 2011 a M _w 9.0 mega-thrust interface subduction earthquake, the Great East Japan Earthquake, occurred 130 km off the northeast coast of Japan in the Pacific Ocean at the Japan Trench, triggering tsunami which caused damage along 600 km of coastline. Observations of damage to buildings (including vertical evacuation facilities) and coastal defences in Tōhoku are presented following investigation by the Earthquake Engineering Field Investigation Team (EEFIT) at 10 locations in Iwate and Miyagi Prefectures. Observations are presented in the context of the coastal setting and tsunami characteristics experienced at each location. Damage surveys were carried out in Kamaishi City and Kesennuma City using a damage scale for reinforced concrete (RC), timber and steel frame buildings adapted from an earlier EEFIT tsunami damage scale. Observations show that many sea walls and breakwaters were overtopped, overturned, or broken up, but provided some degree of protection. We show the extreme variability of damage in a local area due to inundation depth, flow direction, velocity variations and sheltering. Survival of many RC shear wall structures shows their high potential to withstand local earthquake and significant tsunami inundation but further research is required into mitigation of scour, liquefaction, debris impact, and the prevention of overturning failure. Damage to steel and timber buildings are also discussed. These observations are intended to contribute to mitigation of future earthquake and tsunami damage by highlighting the key features which influence damage level and local variability of damage sustained by urban coastal infrastructure when subjected to extreme tsunami inundation depths.     

Investigation of ULF Seismo-Magnetic Phenomena in Kanto, Japan During 2000–2010: Case Studies and Statistical Studies

In order to clarify the ultra low frequency (ULF) seismo-magnetic phenomena, a sensitive geomagnetic network has been installed in Kanto, Japan. In this study, we have analyzed geomagnetic data observed during the past decade in Izu and Boso Peninsulas. Energy of ULF geomagnetic signals at the frequency around 0.01 Hz has been investigated by wavelet transform analysis. To identify anomalous changes in ionospheric disturbances, the station Memabutsu has been chosen as a reference station. Case studies of magnitude 6 class earthquakes have demonstrated that there are unusual geomagnetic energy enhancements in the vertical component before the main shocks. Statistical studies by superposed epoch analysis have indicated that, before a sizeable earthquake, there are clearly higher probabilities of ULF anomalies than after the earthquake: statistical results of daily counts were found significant at about 3–4 weeks before, 1 week before, few days before, and 1 day after the event for Seikoshi station in Izu and around 2 weeks before, few days before, and 1 day after the event for Kiyosumi station in Boso, respectively.     

Performance of dry-separation processes in the recovery of cenospheres from fly ash and their implementation in a recovery unit

Cenospheres recovery is one of the coal fly ash beneficiations, providing economic as well as environmental benefits. Current techniques, such as lagoon or other wet-separation processes, consume large amounts of water and add to water pollution due to leaching of toxic materials from fly ash. The other possible disadvantage is the need for a wide operational area, which is unsuitable for densely populated countries. As wet-separation processes have some disadvantages, an improved and/or sustainable alternative recovery technique is required. An air classifier is one of the alternative techniques. In this study, two types of air classifiers, namely a closed-type pneumatic separator and a micron separator, have been investigated. In terms of separation efficiency, it was found that the micron separator has the potential to be applied in cenospheres recovery from coal fly ash, giving a Newton's efficiency of 0.44, as compared to a value of about 0.26 for the closed-type pneumatic separator. The cenospheres recoveries of both pieces of equipment at their optimum Newton's efficiencies were similar at over 60 wt.%. The separation performance was further assessed from the particle distributions of the overflow and underflow products obtained from both pieces of equipment, as well as from SEM images. It was found that the lower Newton's efficiency of the closed-type pneumatic separator was due to the re-concentration of fine particles in the underflow product at air-flow rates higher than 2.2 m/s (the underflow product yield was about 55 wt.%).In order to further confirm the applicability of this technique, the micron separator, which had provided higher separation efficiency and cenospheres recovery, was deployed in a cenospheres recovery unit prior to the use of a wet-separation process (float and sink tank). About 80% of the cenospheres was recovered, with an 87.8% reduction in the total mass of fly ash to be separated in the float and sink tank. Consequently, much less water was needed for the process of cenospheres recovery. Moreover, it was also confirmed that the micron separator could yield higher quality fly ashes, that is, fly ash types I and II, from lower feed quality of fly ash type IV, which is the lowest category in commercial classification of fly ash according to JIS A6201.     

Biogenic carbon flows through the planktonic food web of the Amundsen Gulf (Arctic Ocean): A synthesis of field measurements and inverse modeling analyses

Major pathways of biogenic carbon (C) flow are resolved for the planktonic food web of the flaw lead polynya system of the Amundsen Gulf (southeast Beaufort Sea, Arctic Ocean) in spring-summer 2008. This period was relevant to study the effect of climate change on Arctic marine ecosystems as it was characterized by unusually low ice cover and warm sea surface temperature. Our synthesis relied on a mass balance estimate of gross primary production (GPP) of 52.5 ± 12.5 g C m⁻² calculated using the drawdown of nitrate and dissolved inorganic C, and a seasonal f-ratio of 0.64. Based on chlorophyll a biomass, we estimated that GPP was dominated by phytoplankton (93.6%) over ice algae (6.4%) and by large cells (>5 μm, 67.6%) over small cells (<5 μm, 32.4%). Ancillary in situ data on bacterial production, zooplankton biomass and respiration, herbivory, bacterivory, vertical particle fluxes, pools of particulate and dissolved organic carbon (POC, DOC), net community production (NCP), as well as selected variables from the literature were used to evaluate the fate of size-fractionated GPP in the ecosystem. The structure and functioning of the planktonic food web was elucidated through inverse analysis using the mean GPP and the 95% confidence limits of every other field measurement as lower and upper constraints. The model computed a net primary production of 49.2 g C m⁻², which was directly channeled toward dominant calanoid copepods (i.e. Calanus hyperboreus 20%, Calanus glacialis 10%, and Metridia longa 10%), other mesozooplankton (12%), microzooplankton (14%), detrital POC (18%), and DOC (16%). Bacteria required 29.9 g C m⁻², a demand met entirely by the DOC derived from local biological activities. The ultimate C outflow comprised respiration fluxes (82% of the initial GPP), a small sedimentation (3%), and a modest residual C flow (15%) resulting from NCP, dilution and accumulation. The sinking C flux at the model limit depth (395 m) supplied 60% of the estimated benthic C demand (2.8 g C m⁻²), suggesting that the benthos relied partly on other C sources within the bottom boundary layer to fuel its activity. In summary, our results illustrate that the ongoing decline in Arctic sea ice promotes the growth of pelagic communities in the Amundsen Gulf, which benefited from a ∼80% increase in GPP in spring-summer 2008 when compared to 2004 – a year of average ice conditions and relatively low GPP. However, 53% of the secondary production was generated within the microbial food web, the net ecological efficiency of zooplankton populations was not particularly high (13.4%), and the quantity of biogenic C available for trophic export remained low (6.6 g C m⁻²). Hence it is unlikely that the increase in lower food web productivity, such as the one observed in our study, could support new harvestable fishery resources in the offshore Beaufort Sea domain.     

Empirical ocean-color algorithms to retrieve chlorophyll-a, total suspended matter, and colored dissolved organic matter absorption coefficient in the Yellow and East China Seas

A bio-optical dataset collected during the 1998?C2007 period in the Yellow and East China Seas (YECS) was used to provide alternative empirical ocean-color algorithms in the retrieval of chlorophyll-a (Chl-a), total suspended matter (TSM), and colored dissolved organic matter (CDOM) absorption coefficients at 440 nm (ag₄₄₀). Assuming that remote-sensing reflectance (Rrs) could be retrieved accurately, empirical algorithms for T_Chl (regionally tuned Tassan??s Chl-a algorithm) in case-1 waters (T_Chl2i in case-2 waters), T_TSM (regionally tuned Tassan??s TSM algorithm), and T_ag440 or C_ag440 (regionally tuned Tassan??s or Carder??s ag₄₄₀ algorithm) were able to retrieve Chl-a, TSM, and ag₄₄₀ with uncertainties as high as 35, 46, and 35%, respectively. Applying the standard SeaWiFS Rrs, T_Chl was not viable in the eastern part of the YECS, which was associated with an inaccurate SeaWiFS Rrs retrieval because of improper atmospheric correction. T_Chl behaved better than other algorithms in the turbid case-2 waters, although overestimation was still observed. To retrieve more reliable Chl-a estimates with standard SeaWiFS Rrs in turbid water (a proxy for case-2 waters), we modified T_Chl for data with SeaWiFS normalized water-leaving radiance at 555 nm (nLw₅₅₅) > 2 mW cm^?2 ??m^?1 sr^?1 (T_Chl2s). Finally, with standard SeaWiFS Rrs, we recommend switching algorithms from T_Chl2s (for case-2 waters) to MOC_Chl (SeaWiFS-modified NASA OC4v4 standard algorithm for case-1 waters) for retrieving Chl-a, which resulted in uncertainties as high as 49%. To retrieve TSM and ag₄₄₀ using SeaWiFS Rrs, we recommend empirical algorithms for T_TSM (pre-SeaWiFS-modified form) and MT_ag440 or MC_ag440 (SeaWiFS Rrs-modified forms of T_ag440 or C_ag440). These could retrieve with uncertainties as high as 82 and 52%, respectively.     

A study on three-dimensional structures of the ionospheric dynamo currents induced by the neutral winds simulated by the Kyushu-GCM

Three-dimensional structures of the ionospheric dynamo currents are examined using the neutral winds in a general circulation model of the middle atmosphere at Kyushu University. A quasi-three-dimensional ionospheric dynamo model is constructed assuming an infinite parallel conductivity in the ionosphere. This model is able to simulate both the equatorial electrojet and the global Sq current system successfully. The simulated results reveal that the equatorial electrojet is confined in quite narrow latitudes around the equator accompanied with meridional current circulations and satisfies a non-divergent structure mainly within the E region. A vertically stratified double layered structure is seen in the east–west current density near the focus latitude of the global Sq current system. It is shown that the stratified structure mainly consists of the east–west Hall current associated with the eastward wind of zonal wavenumbers 1 and 2 in the lower altitudes and the westward wind of zonal wavenumber 2 in the upper altitudes. The day-to-day variation of the neutral winds can significantly vary the induced ionospheric dynamo current system, which is recognized as changes of the focus latitude and/or the maximum value of the equatorial electrojet.     

Titanium- and water-rich metamorphic olivine in high-pressure serpentinites from the Voltri Massif (Ligurian Alps,Italy): evidence for deep subduction of high-field strength and fluid-mobile elements

Titanium- and water-rich metamorphic olivine (Fo 86–88) is reported from partially dehydrated serpentinites from the Voltri complex, Ligurian Alps. The rocks are composed of mostly antigorite and olivine in addition to magnetite, chlorite, clinopyroxene and Ti-clinohumite. In situ secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) data show that metamorphic olivine has very high and strongly correlated H₂O (up to 0.7 wt%) and TiO₂ contents (up to 0.85 wt%). Ti-rich olivine shows colourless to yellow pleochroism. Olivine associated with Ti-clinohumite contains low Ti, suggesting that Ti-rich olivine is not the breakdown product of Ti-clinohumite. Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) absorption spectra show peaks of serpentine, Ti-clinohumite and OH-related Si vacancies. Combining FTIR and SIMS data, we suggest the presence of clustered planar defects or nanoscale exsolutions of Ti-clinohumite in olivine. These defects or exsolutions contain more H₂O (x ~ 0.1 in the formula 4Mg₂SiO₄·(1?x)Mg(OH,F)₂·xTiO₂) than Ti-clinohumite in the sample matrix (x = 0.34–0.46). In addition to TiO₂ and H₂O, secondary olivine contains significant Li (2–60 ppm), B (10–20 ppm), F (10–130 ppm) and Zr (0.9–2.1 ppm). It is enriched in ¹¹B (δ¹¹B = +17 to +23 ‰). Our data indicate that secondary olivine may play a significant role in transporting water, high-field strength and fluid-mobile elements into the deeper mantle as well as introduce significant B isotope anomalies. Release of hydrogen from H₂O-rich olivine subducted into the deep mantle may result in strongly reduced mantle domains.     

Variability of surface characteristics and energy flux patterns of sunn hemp (Crotalaria juncea L.) under well-watered conditions

There is not much information in the literature about the energy partitioning and micrometeorological features of sunn hemp. Therefore, in this study, the variations in the energy-balance components and plant characteristics such as aerodynamic and surface conductance, crop coefficient, albedo, short- and long wave down- and upward radiation have been measured and estimated for the time period from August to October 2004 over an irrigated sand field at the Arid Land Research Center in Tottori, Japan. The Bowen ratio energy-balance method was used to calculate the partitioning of heat fluxes of sunn hemp. The Bowen ratio values at the first growing stages in August were found to be higher than the Bowen ratio values at the latest growing stages in September and October because of the heavy rain and high soil-water content. The daytime averaged Bowen ratio was 0.19. During the measurement period, the daytime average net radiation, and soil, latent and sensible heat fluxes were approximately 231, 28, 164, and 39 W m^–2, respectively. The net radiation and soil heat flux showed decreasing trends from the beginning to the end of the experiment period due to the atmospheric and crop growth conditions. The daytime averages of aerodynamic and surface conductance for sunn hemp were around 31 and 17 mm s^–1, respectively. Also, the daytime average albedo of sunn hemp was around 19%. Finally, the high precipitation amount due to typhoons, high soil-water content, low available energy and low vapor-pressure deficit lead to decreasing trend of the energy fluxes during the generative phase of sunn hemp.