Evaluation of hydrologic data obtained from a local groundwater monitoring network in a metropolitan city,Korea

In the late 1980s, dramatic increases in water use caused over‐exploitation of groundwater resources and deterioration of water quality in Seoul metropolitan city. To monitor changes in quantity of groundwater resources and their quality, the metropolitan government established a local groundwater monitoring network in 1997 consisting of 119 monitoring wells. Groundwater resources in the urban area were affected by various human activities, including underground construction such as subways, pumping for public or private water use, leaky sewer systems and pavements. The variation patterns of the groundwater levels were mainly classified into four types, reflecting natural recharge due to rainfall events during the wet season, artificial recharge from leaky sewer or water supply systems, and heavy groundwater pumping for drainage or flood control purposes at underground construction sites. Significantly decreasing trends of groundwater levels in the suburbs of Seoul indicate groundwater use for various agricultural activities. Subway construction lowered the water level by an average of 25 m. Electrical conductivity values showed a wide range, from 100 to 1800 µS/cm (mean 470 µS/cm). Groundwater temperature generally showed a stable pattern, except for some sensitive increases at relatively shallow monitoring wells. Detailed analysis of the monitored groundwater data would provide some helpful implications for optimal and efficient management of groundwater resources in this metropolitan city. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Late Quaternary glaciation in the Nun‐Kun massif,northwestern India

The late Quaternary glacial history of the Nun‐Kun massif, located on the boundary between the Greater Himalaya and the Zanskar range in northwestern India, was reconstructed. On the basis of morphostratigraphy and ¹⁰Be dating of glacial landforms (moraines and glacial trimlines), five glacial stages were recognized and defined, namely: (i) the Achambur glacial stage dated to Marine Oxygen Isotope Stage 3 to 4 (38.7–62.7 ka); (ii) the Tongul glacial stage dated to the early part of the Lateglacial (16.7–17.4 ka); (iii) the Amantick glacial stage dated to the later part of the Lateglacial (14.3 ka, 11.7–12.4 ka); (iv) the Lomp glacial stage dated to the Little Ice Age; and (v) the Tanak glacial stage, which has the youngest moraines, probably dating to the last few decades or so. Present and former equilibrium‐line altitudes (ELAs) were calculated using the standard area accumulation ratio method. The average present‐day ELA of ～4790 m above sea level in the Greater Himalaya is lower than those in the Ladakh and Zanskar ranges, namely 5380 and ～5900 m a.s.l., respectively. The ELA in the Zanskar range is higher than in the Ladakh range, possibly due to the higher peaks in the Ladakh range that are able to more effectively capture and store snow and ice. ELA depressions decrease towards the Ladakh range (i.e. inner Plateau). Peat beds interbedded with aeolian deposits that cap the terminal moraine of Tarangoz Glacier suggest millennial‐time‐scale climate change throughout the Holocene, with soil formation times at c. 1.5, c. 3.4 and c. 5.2 ka, probably coinciding with Holocene abrupt climate change events. Given the style and timing of glaciation in the study area, it is likely that climate in the Nun‐Kun region is linked to Northern Hemisphere climate oscillations with teleconnections via the mid‐latitude westerlies.     

Sulfur Isotope Study of Precambrian Basement and Mesozoic Intrusive Rocks in the Southwestern Part of Ryeongnam Massif, Korea

Abstract. Isotope composition of whole rock sulfur has been measured on 14 schists, 10 gneisses, 7 gabbroids, 7 granitoids and 2 sedimentary rocks, with of 9 sulfide (pyrite) sulfurs in gabbros and granitoids, from the southwestern part of the Ryeongnam Massif, Korea. The δ³⁴S values of schists range from -4.6 to +6.1 % (average +0.9 %), those of gneisses from -4.0 to +0.8 % (-1.9%), those of gabbroids from -2.3 to +3.7 % (+1.0 %), and those of granitoids from -5.9 to +3.2 % (-1.9 %). The δ³⁴S values of pyrite separated from gabbros and granitoids show rather heavier values ranging from +3.1 to +9.4 % with an average of+5.8%.
Though the δ³⁴S values of whole rock sulfur give wide range of -5.9 to +6.1 %, the average of about -0.5 % is close to the mantle value. The granitoids sampled at the central parts of intrusive bodies or at the contacts with other plutonic rocks tend to show positive values, while those sampled near the boundary with basement rocks such as granitic gneiss and por-phyroblastic gneiss show negative values. Though the reason of this tendency is not clear at present, the δ³⁴S values of some granitoids in this area seem to represent possible influence by the assimilation of country rocks, particularly of gneisses.
Average isotopic compositions of ore sulfur from individual metal deposits in the studied area are summarized to have a range of+1.0 to +7.8 % with an average value of+3.2 %. The values are consistent with the previous finding that the ore sulfur isotopic values of the Ryeongnam Massif are the lowest among the four tectonic belts in Korea; Gyeonggi Massif, Ogcheon Belt, Ryeongnam Massif, and Gyeongsang Basin. This feature may reflect the isotopic compositions of plutonic rocks and basements in this area, which are characterized by relatively low values around zero permil.     

The image of nature in geomancy

The art of geomancy (feng-shui in Chinese) is concerned with choosing auspicious sites from which man can benefit. Geomancy has been one of the most important ideas which influenced man's relationships with nature in East Asia and has significantly affected the location and morphology of cities, villages, houses and graves in China and Korea. In geomancy, nature is basically interpreted in terms of the following three images, namely: (1) magical, that which is produced mysterious power to influence man; (2) personified, that which is treated as functioning system of animate organism or inanimate object; (3) vulnerable, that which can be destroyed or recovered by human action.     

Identification of hydrodynamic coefficients in ship maneuvering equations of motion by Estimation-Before-Modeling technique

Estimation-Before-Modeling (EBM) technique (or the two-step method) is a system identification method that estimates parameters in a dynamic model. Given sea trial data, the extended Kalman filter and modified Bryson–Frazier smoother can be used to estimate motion variables, hydrodynamic force, and the speed and the direction of current. And using these estimated data, we can use the ridge regression method to estimate the hydrodynamic coefficients in a model. An identifiable state space model is constructed in case that current effect is included and the maneuvering characteristics of a ship are analyzed by correlation analysis. To better identify hydrodynamic coefficients, we suggest the sub-optimal input scenario that considers the D-optimal criterion. Finally, the algorithm is confirmed against real sea trial data of 113K tanker.     

XML Web Service‐based development model for Internet GIS applications

Most of the current Internet Geographic Information System (GIS) applications cannot be shared and are not interoperable because of their heterogeneous environments. With the growth of Internet GIS, many difficulties have occurred in integrating GIS components because of their diversity. The main objective of this study is to suggest a new development model for dynamic and interoperable Internet GIS applications. The model is based mainly on the dynamic integration of Internet GIS components by applying Extensible Markup Language (XML), XML Web Service, Geography Markup Language (GML), and Scalable Vector Graphics (SVG), etc. The relevant technologies of Internet GIS were reviewed thoroughly, and then a new model was designed. During the design of the new model, typical examples of GIS Web Service components were suggested, together with practical structures for applications using these components. Six examples of components and four types of applications were suggested, and they were experimentally implemented for model validation and improvement. The suggested model and components will enable easier and more rapid development of Internet GIS applications through the dynamic integration of distributed GIS components. Users will be able to avoid redundancy and consequently reduce both cost and time during each GIS project.     

Density Estimates of Moon Jellyfish (Aurelia coerulea) in the Yeongsan Estuary using Nets and Hydroacoustics

Ocean Science Journal - Using nets and acoustic frequencies of 38 and 120 kHz, we estimated the density distribution of the moon jellyfish, Aurelia coerulea, in the Yeongsan Estuary, where a large...     

Cloning and sequence analysis of the self-fertilizing fish Rivulus marmoratus immediate early gene c-fos

We have cloned the proto-oncogene c-fos from a self-fertilizing fish Rivulus marmoratus (Cyprinodontiformes, Rivulidae) after screening of R. marmoratus λGEM-11 genomic DNA library, and sequenced over 12 kb including all exons, introns and the promoter region. The R. marmoratus c-fos gene consisted of one noncoding exon and four exons with high similarity to those of fugu and mammals. We sequenced ≈7 kb of the R. marmoratus c-fos gene promoter region to gain a better understanding of the molecular anatomy of the immediate response of this gene upon cellular damage. In the promoter region, R. marmoratus c-fos gene has seven xenobiotic response elements (XREs) and eight metal response elements (MREs) as well as two estradiol (E2), 4 NFκB, 2 CarG, 2 prolactin (PRL) motifs and one pit1 site, while the 3^′-UTR of this gene contains the estrogen response element (ERE). The seven XRE and eight MRE motifs raise the possibility of its regulation by exposure to environmental pollutants. In this paper, we discuss the gene structure of R. marmoratus c-fos gene and compare its promoter region with those of other organisms' c-fos genes. We propose its potential use in ecotoxicology.