An analogue model for studying magnetic variations induced by ocean waves

The scale factors to permit a laboratory analogue model study of the problem of magnetic fields induced by ocean waves in the earth's field are derived. An analogue model employing surface fluid waves in mercury to simulate ocean waves is described. In the analogue model, magnetic field measurements were made 1 cm above a 2 cm deep model mercury ocean for a wave period of 0.21 s. This model simulates measurements 38 m above the surface of a shallow ocean 78 m deep for a wave period of 13 s. The validity of the analogue modelling technique is established by the good agreement obtained in comparing the analogue model measurements of the induced magnetic fields with fields using Podney's expression for an ocean of finite depth.     

A complete model of the propagation of solar-flare cosmic rays

A two-stage model of the propagation of 1–50 MeV solar-flare cosmic rays is presented. The first stage consists of a thin spherical shell of radius r _a near the Sun which feeds particles into interplanetary space (the second stage) where they propagate along the Archimedean mean interplanetary magnetic field under the influences of anisotropic diffusion, convection, and energy changes. To calculate the time dependence at a fixed point in space, account is taken of the corotation of flux tubes past the observer.It is shown that the well-known east-west effect of the time-to-maximum cannot be obtained if the injection from the first stage is impulsive and thus a time and longitude dependent release for the second stage is essential. This is achieved by treating the first stage as a thin, spherical, diffusing shell of radius r _a with diffusion coefficient _s, from which particles leak into interplanetary space at a rate determined by the leakage coefficient .With this model we are able to reproduce simultaneously four principal features of solar events observed at r = 1 AU: (i) the east-west effect, i.e. the time-to-maximum as a function of flare longitude; (ii) the three phases of the anisotropy vector variation; (iii) the time-to-convective-phase as a function of flare longitude; and (iv) the longitudinal distribution of the differential intensity. Our best estimates of the parameters of the near-Sun propagation are that 0.01 hr^–1 _s/r _a ² 0.02 hr^–1 and 1/15 hr^–1 1/10 hr^–1. For the interplanetary propagation we estimate /V - 1.2AU with , the effective cosmic-ray diffusion coefficient and V, the solar-wind speed.     

A procedure for incorporating setup into load and resistance factor design of driven piles

In a recent study, the time-dependent increase in axial load resistance of steel H-piles driven into cohesive soils, due to setup, was systematically quantified using measured field data. A method to estimate the setup based on measurable soil properties was subsequently established. These studies highlighted that the uncertainties of the measurements of soil properties and thus the semi-empirical approach to estimate setup are significantly different from those of the methodology used for measuring the pile resistance during retaps at any time after the end of driving. Recognizing that the two sets of uncertainties should be addressed concurrently, this paper presents a procedure for determining the factored resistance of a pile with due consideration to setup in accordance with the load and resistance factor design that targets a specific reliability index. Using the first-order second-moment method, the suggested procedure not only provides a simplified approach to incorporate any form of setup in design, but it also produces comparable results to the computationally intensive first-order reliability method. Incorporating setup in design and construction control is further shown to reduce foundation costs and minimize retap requirements on piles, ultimately reducing the construction costs of pile foundations.     

A brief overview of the ACEP project: Ecosystem Processes in the KwaZulu-Natal Bight§

This introductory paper lays the basis for this supplementary issue by briefly presenting the state of knowledge on the KwaZulu-Natal (KZN) Bight at the start of this multi-disciplinary, multi-institutional, ship-based research project that ran from 2009 to 2013. The rationale and aims of the project are also described. The project was a major component of the South African Department of Science and Technology’s African Coelacanth Ecosystem Programme (ACEP), which has been prominent in supporting research on the east coast of South Africa and the wider South-West Indian Ocean. Pivotal to this was the RS Algoa, which was made available for two 30-day surveys (winter and summer) in the KZN Bight by the Department of Environmental Affairs. Although some aspects of the bight ecology are known, much of the research is dated and fragmented, and required refreshing and consolidation in order to produce a platform upon which the understanding of the region’s ecosystem functioning could be established. Much of the oceanographic knowledge is also dated, with no dedicated surveys and significant measurements undertaken since 1989. The overarching theme of the KZN Bight project was to examine the relative importance of sources of nutrients to the central KZN coast and how these are taken up and recycled in the ecosystem, and to describe aspects of the benthic biodiversity, which is poorly described in much of this region. An ambitious project, its accessibility to a ship-based research platform and the diverse scientific skills of the participating scientists allowed considerable success, as reflected in the papers that follow.     

Centrifuge modeling of loose fill embankment subjected to uni-axial and bi-axial earthquakes

The seismic risk is fairly high in Hong Kong even though it is located in an intreplate area with low to moderate seismicity. This is because of its high seismic vulnerability due to the presence of many steep loose fill slopes with a marginal static factor of safety, and a high consequence ‘value’ as a result of the dense population and intense economic activity in Hong Kong. In order to investigate the seismic stability and potential flow liquefaction of loose fill slopes, dynamic centrifuge tests in uni-axial and bi-axial directions were performed on saturated model embankments made of loose completely decomposed granite (CDG). Three windowed sinusoidal waves with peak shaking amplitudes ranging from 0.08 g to 0.3 g (prototype scale) were adopted. During the strong uni-axial shaking of 0.3 g, the measured maximum excess pore pressure ratios ranged from 0.70 to 0.85 and a relatively small crest settlement of 5.8 mm (0.22 m prototype) was measured. No soil liquefaction or flow slides were observed. Comparing the results between the strong uni-axial and bi-axial shaking, the maximum pore pressure ratios measured from the bi-axial test varied from 0.75 to 0.87, which were marginally larger than those obtained from the uni-axial test. Although the measured crest settlement during the bi-axial shaking was about 27% larger than that of the uni-axial test, soil liquefaction and flow slide did not occur. These test results suggest that loose CDG fill slopes are likely to be stable under the proposed design PGA ranging from 0.08 to 0.11 g in Hong Kong.     

跨越走滑断层黏土地层动力响应离心机试验研究

地震中基岩走滑断层活动引起跨断层地下结构物破坏,上覆土层的非一致响应机制尚不明确,隐伏裂缝影响规律认识不足。基于可模拟走滑断层活动的层状剪切箱,针对黏土地层展开两个离心机振动台试验,对比上覆土体中隐伏裂缝的影响。试验结果表明,当地层中不存在隐伏裂缝时,基岩走滑断层错动对两盘地层的非一致振动的影响不显著。当地层中存在隐伏裂缝,错动盘一侧土体的振动加速度幅值随振动循环次数的增加逐渐减小,固定盘和错动盘两侧土体出现非一致振动响应,固定盘一侧土体产生的超静孔压大于错动盘一侧。隐伏裂缝对土体非一致振动响应的影响范围受限于其在地层中的分布范围,探明隐伏裂缝上断点的埋深具有重要工程意义。     

Occurrence of bed load transport in the presence of stable clast

It is well-versed that transport occurrence is vital for in stream rehabilitation, river restoration and installment of sediment sampler on river beds. Current practice emulates the use of continuous pre-diction using reach-averaged approach. However, prediction of transport occurrence entails the use of binary model through the execution of logistic regression analysis. Bed load and turbulence data were physically measured at mountainous region with divergent surface bedform in its presence. The para-meterization and statistical approaches are treated in the similar fashion with multiple regression except for the test for model fit and model selection criterion. The parameters on near-bed turbulence char-acteristics at the entrainment threshold were assigned as independent variables containing 15 pre-dictors. Almost 80 models were generated by selecting the best possible combination in accordance with the statistical precaution of alleviating multicollinearity issue. It is postulated that the model containing shields stress in the form of turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) at vertical direction and fractional time for second quadrant provides better estimation of potential location for greatest sediment-entrainment;hence a high possibility for transport occurrence.     

Reconstructing ice-flow fields from streamlined subglacial bedforms: A kriging approach

The orientation of several landforms, e.g. drumlins, flutes, crag-and-tails, and mega-scale glacial lineations, records the direction of the overlying ice flow that created them. Populations of such features are used routinely to infer former ice-flow patterns, which serve as the building blocks of reconstructions of palaeo ice-sheet evolution. Currently, the conceptualisation of flow patterns from these flow-direction records is done manually and qualitatively, so the extractable glaciological information is limited. We describe a kriging method (with Matlab code implementation) that calculates continuous fields of ice-flow direction, convergence, and curvature from the flow-direction records, and which yields quantitative results with uncertainty estimates. We test the method by application to the subglacial bedforms of the Tweed Valley Basin, UK. The results quantify the convergent flow pattern of the Tweed Palaeo-Ice Stream in detail and pinpoint its former lateral shear margins and where ice flowed around basal bumps. Ice-flow parameters retrieved by this method can enrich ice-sheet reconstructions and investigations of subglacial till processes and bedform genesis. © 2018 The Authors. Earth Surface Processes and Landforms published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.     

A study of polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins/furans (PCDD/Fs) and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) in the livestock waste compost of Hong Kong, PR China

Composting is one of the waste disposal methods adopted for disposal of livestock waste in Hong Kong. The composting livestock waste normally undergoes 6–8 weeks fermentation, followed by 16–20 weeks maturation. The matured compost is sold as soil conditioner in the local market. In 2006, feedstock material and a time-series of compost samples were collected throughout the fermentation and maturation process from the Sha Ling Composting Plant in the New Territories. The feedstock material and compost samples were analyzed for contents of three unintentional persistent organic pollutants (POPs), i.e. dioxins/furans, dioxin-like PCBs and total PCBs. These POPs are unintentionally produced by-products of chemical industrial processes and combustion processes. Selected heavy metals were also analyzed, which served as conservative tracers to determine potential mass loss during the composting process. Levels of contamination by these POPs were found to be low in the matured compost for sale. The mean concentrations (lower–upper bound) of total dioxins/furans, total dioxin-like PCBs and total PCBs were 2.01–2.05 ng I-TEQ/kg dw, 0.04–0.05 ng WHO-TEQ/kg dw and 1.55–1.55 μg/kg dw, respectively. Progressively elevated levels of these POPs were observed in the compost samples during the fermentation process. Analysis of the congener profiles revealed that the heptaCDD and octaCDD were the main contributors to the observed increase in dioxin/furan content. The possible sources of dioxins/furans in the compost were discussed. The study results established a local dioxins/furans emission factor specific to the trade and provided a better estimate of the annual dioxins/furans emission for the livestock waste composting activity in Hong Kong.     

Probabilistic characterization of cyclic shear modulus reduction for normally to moderately over-consolidated clays

Evaluation of the cyclic shear modulus of soils is a crucial but challenging task for many geotechnical earthquake engineering and soil dynamic issues. Improper determination of this property unnecessarily drives up design and maintenance costs or even leads to the construction of unsafe structures. Due to the complexities involved in the direct measurement, empirical curves for estimating the cyclic shear modulus have been commonly adopted in practice for simplicity and economical considerations. However, a systematic and robust approach for formulating a reliable model and empirical curve for cyclic shear modulus prediction for clayey soils is still lacking. In this study, the Bayesian model class selection approach is utilized to identify the most significant soil parameters affecting the normalized cyclic shear modulus and a reliable predictive model for normally to moderately over-consolidated clays is proposed. Results show that the predictability and reliability of the proposed model out performs the well-known empirical models. Finally, a new design chart is established for practical usage.