Uniform fragility spectra for the performance‐based seismic design of structures considering variabilities in structural properties

This paper presents a new methodology based on structural performance to determine uniform fragility design spectra, i.e., spectra with the same probability of exceedance of a performance level for a given seismic intensity. The design spectra calculated with this methodology provide directly the lateral strength, in terms of yield‐ pseudo‐accelerations, associated with the rate of exceedance of a specific ductility characterizing the performance level for which the structures will be designed. This procedure involves the assessment of the seismic hazard using a large enough number of seismic records of several magnitudes; these records are simulated with an improved empirical Green function method. The statistics of the performance of a single degree of freedom system are obtained using Monte Carlo simulation considering the seismic demand, the fundamental period, and the strength of the structure as uncertain variables. With these results, the conditional probability that a structure exceeds a specific performance level is obtained. The authors consider that the proposed procedure is a significant improvement to others considered in the literature and a useful research tool for the further development of uniform fragility spectra that can be used for the performance‐based seismic design and retrofit of structures.     

26Al/10Be ratios reveal the source of river sediments in the Kimberley,NW Australia

We use cosmogenic ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al in both bedrock and fluvial sediments to investigate controls on erosion rates and sediment supply to river basins at the regional scale in the Kimberley, NW Australia. The area is characterised by lithologically controlled morphologies such as cuestas, isolated mesas and extensive plateaus made of slightly dipping, extensively jointed sandstones. All sampled bedrock surfaces at plateau tops, ridgelines, and in the broader floodplain of major rivers over the region show similar slow lowering rates between 0.17 and 4.88 m.Myr^-1, with a mean value of 1.0 ± 0.6 m.Myr^-1 (n=15), whilst two bedrock samples collected directly within river-beds record rates that are one to two orders of magnitude higher (14.4 ± 1.5 and 20.9 ± 2.5 m.Myr^-1, respectively). Bedrock ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be ratios are all compatible with simple, continuous sub-aerial exposure histories. Modern river sediment yield lower ¹⁰Be and ²⁶Al concentrations, apparent ¹⁰Be basin-wide denudation rates ranging between 1.8 and 7.7 m.Myr^-1, with a median value of 2.6 m.Myr^-1, more than double the magnitude of bedrock erosion rates. ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be ratios of the sediment samples are lower than those obtained for bedrock samples. We propose that these depleted ²⁶Al/¹⁰Be ratios can largely be explained by the supply of sediment to river basins from the slab fragmentation and chemical weathering of channel gorge walls and plateau escarpments that result in diluting the cosmogenic nuclide concentration in river sediments measured at the basin outlets. The results of a mass-balance model suggest that ~60–90% of river sediment in the Kimberley results from the breakdown and chemical weathering of retreating vertical sandstone rock-walls in contrast to sediment generated by bedrock weathering and erosion on the plateau tops. This study emphasises the value of analysing two or more isotopes in basin-scale studies using cosmogenic nuclides, especially in slowly eroding post-orogenic settings. © 2019 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

A New Semi-greedy Approach to Enhance Drillhole Planning

In advanced exploration projects or operating mines, the process of allocating capital for infill drilling programs is a significant and recurrent challenge. Within a large company, the different mine sites and projects compete for the available funds for drilling. To maximize a project’s value to its company, a drillhole location optimizer can be used as an objective tool to compare drilling campaigns. The fast semi-greedy optimizer presented here can allow for the obtention of close to optimal solutions to the coverage problem with up to three orders of magnitude less computing time needed than with integer programming. The heuristic approach is flexible as it allows dynamic updating of block values once new drillholes are selected in the solution, as opposed to existing methods based on static block values. The block values used for optimization incorporate kriging estimate and variance, estimate of indicator at cutoff grade and distances to existing or newly selected drillholes. The heuristic approach tends to locate new drillholes within the maximum risk areas, i.e., within less informed zones predicted as being ore zones. Applied to different deposits, it enables, after suitable normalization, comparison of different drilling campaigns and allocation of budgets accordingly.

     

Effect of Monetary Incentives on Mail Survey Response Rates for Midwestern Farmers

Response rates to mail-based surveys have declined in recent decades, and survey response rates for farmers tend to be low overall. Maintaining high response rates is necessary to prevent non-response bias. Historically, incentives have been an effective tool to increase response rates with general populations. However, the effect of incentives on farmers has not been well tested. In this study, we experimentally manipulated the use of a $2 incentive in two surveys targeted at farmers. We tested both the use of the incentive and the timing of incentive distribution in the survey process. We found the incentive significantly increased response rates with farmers but there was no significant effect of when the incentive was distributed. Additionally, we evaluated the cost-effectiveness of using the incentive. While the incentive increased response rate, the cost per survey response also increased and the cost of the incentive was not offset by the increased response rate.     

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) in killer whales (Orcinus orca) from the Crozet Archipelago, southern Indian Ocean

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs), including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins (PCDDs), and dibenzofurans (PCDFs), are ubiquitous environmental contaminants of which significant concentrations are reported in upper trophic level animals. In 1998, we collected blubber biopsy samples (n = 11) from killer whales (Orcinus orca) inhabiting the coastal waters around Possession Island, Crozet Archipelago, southern Indian Ocean, for contaminant analyses. Despite inhabiting an isolated region far removed from industrial activities, these killer whales can presently be considered among the most PCB-contaminated cetaceans in the southern hemisphere, with concentrations ranging from 4.4 to 20.5 mg/kg lipid weight (lw). PCDD levels ranged from below the detection limit (5 ng/kg) to 77.1 ng/kg lw and PCDF levels from below the detection limit (7 ng/kg) to 36.1 ng/kg lw. Over 70% of our study animals had PCB concentrations which exceeded a 1.3 mg/kg PCB threshold established for endocrine disruption and immunotoxicity in free-ranging harbour seals, suggesting that organic contaminants cannot be ruled out as an additional threat to this declining population.     

Effects of the suspension feeding mussel Mytilus trossulus on a brackish water macroalgal and associated invertebrate community

The importance of suspension-feeding mussels is particularly apparent in benthic communities; however, the role of this feeding strategy on the development of macroalgal and associated invertebrate communities is in general poorly known. The effect of suspension-feeding mussels Mytilus trossulus on benthic communities was studied in an in situ factorial field experiment in the Northern Baltic Sea over one ice-free season. The experiment was performed under different regimes of wave exposure (low and moderate) and on different sedimentary habitats (soft bottom with high organic content, soft bottom with low organic content, and hard bottom). In general the presence of mussels was associated with increased biomass of filamentous algae, herbivores and deposit feeders and decreased biomass of charophytes. The effect of M. trossulus interacted with the effect of exposure and substrate. Stronger responses were observed in moderately exposed than in sheltered areas. The presence of M. trossulus affected charophytes and deposit feeders on sand with low content of organic matter and filamentous algae on pebbles but not on other substrate types. The magnitude of the effects varied between months. The results suggest that (i) even in dynamic coastal systems the biodeposits and excretions of mussels are at least partly assimilated locally and are not flushed away to the open sea, (ii) the accumulation of faecal material induced elevated growth of deposit feeders, (iii) mussels enhanced the growth of ephemeral macroalgae and reduced the growth of perennial macroalgae, and (iv) together with increasing benthic primary production, mussels indirectly increase the production of herbivores.     

Comparison of benthic and pelagic suspension feeding in shallow water habitats of the Northeastern Baltic Sea

Combining field experiments with the biomass distribution data of dominant suspension feeders we compared the benthic and pelagic suspension feeding rates in shallow non-tidal brackish water coastal habitats. We found that pelagic grazing exceeded benthic grazing in almost all cases, on average from 14 to 4819 times depending on the site. Benthic grazing rates were related to site-specific environmental parameters and showed no relationship with water chlorophyl a (Chl a ) content, whereas pelagic grazing rates varied both spatially and temporally and were related to water Chl a content. Our results indicate that in several shallow coastal habitats, pelagic suspension feeding substantially exceeds benthic suspension feeding. This suggests that pelagic recycling is higher than the amounts of energy redirected from pelagic to benthic food webs by benthic suspension feeders. These results increase our knowledge of the energy flows in coastal ecosystems.     

Benthic geochemistry of manganese in the Bay of Biscay,and sediment mass accumulation rate

Manganese is a major redox reactive element of benthic metabolism. We have built a database of existing knowledge on the benthic geochemistry of Mn in the Bay of Biscay, in order to comprehensively assess the behaviour of Mn in a variety of environments during early diagenesis. The database contains vertical profiles of particulate and dissolved Mn species of 59 cores collected during 17 cruises between 1997 and 2006 at nine stations positioned between 140 and 4,800 m water depths. At all studied stations, Mn species follow the conventional distribution, where Mn(III,IV) species are enriched in the oxic layer, and dissolved Mn is present in the anoxic sediments. A minor part of Mn-oxides originates from sedimenting particles. The major part is of diagenetic origin, and derives from the oxidation of upward-diffusing dissolved Mn(II). Mn-oxide inventories are higher at the deeper stations than at the shallower ones. This difference cannot be attributed to different sources of sedimenting particles, but it must depend on sedimentation rate and diagenetic processes. At depth, dissolved Mn(II) concentrations are constant. This probably reflects equilibrium with an authigenic Mn(II) phase, which is the ultimate phase into which Mn is fossilized. The Mn content of deeper anoxic sediments is similarly low in all the cores studied, associated with corresponding trends of Mn content in sedimenting particles of the Bay of Biscay. Bioturbation, rather than redox oscillations, can convey Mn(III,IV) species downwards into the anoxic sediments where they are reduced, associated with a peak of dissolved Mn. Because dissolved Mn(II) is re-oxidized when it diffuses towards the oxic layer, the inventory of the diagenetic Mn(III,IV) phase remains at steady state, especially at stations where the oxic layer is thick. It then becomes possible to calculate the residence time of diagenetic Mn(III,IV) particles within the oxic layer, using the upward-directed flux of pore water Mn(II). By applying this residence time to the accumulation of sediments within the oxic layer, we obtain the sediment mass accumulation rate. The values calculated for the sediments of the Bay of Biscay fit well with accumulation rates obtained from radionuclides or sediment traps. The method has also been validated with data collected in other marine sedimentary environments. Electronic supplementary material  The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.