Wave prediction in a port using a fully nonlinear Boussinesq wave model

A wave forecasting system using FUNWAVE-TVD which is based on the fully nonlinear Boussinesq equations by Chen(2006) was developed to provide an accurate wave prediction in the Port of Busan, South Korea. This system is linked to the Korea Operational Oceanographic System(KOOS) developed by Park et al.(2015). The computational domain covers a region of 9.6 km×7.0 km with a grid size of 2 m in both directions, which is sufficient to resolve short waves and dominant sea states. The total number of grid points exceeds 16 millions,making the model computational expensive. To provide real-time forecasting, an interpolation method, which is based on pre-calculated results of FUNWAVE-TVD and SWAN forecasting results at the FUNWAVE-TVD offshore boundary, was used. A total of 45 cases were pre-calculated, which took 71 days on 924 computational cores of a Linux cluster system. Wind wave generation and propagation from the deep water were computed using the SWAN in KOOS. SWAN results provided a boundary condition for the FUNWAVE-TVD forecasting system. To verify the model, wave observations were conducted at three locations inside the port in a time period of more than 7 months. A model/model comparison between FUNWAVE-TVD and SWAN was also carried out. It is found that, FUNWAVE-TVD improves the forecasting results significantly compared to SWAN which underestimates wave heights in sheltered areas due to incorrect physical mechanism of wave diffraction, as well as large wave heights caused by wave reflections inside the port.     

Comparative study on the fauna composition of intertidal invertebrates between natural and artificial substrata in the northeastern coast of Jeju Island

This study was carried out to learn about differences in the sessile macrobenthic fauna communities between the artificial and natural habitats. There were some differences in terms of species composition and dominant species and community structure between two habitat types. The dominant species include Pollicipes mitella and Granuilittorina exigua in natural rocky intertidal zones; Monodonta labio confusa, Ligia exotica, Tetraclita japonica in the artificial rocky intertidal zones. Among all the species, L. exotica and T. japonica occurred only in the artificial rocky intertidal zone. The results of cluster analysis and nMDS analysis showed a distinct difference in community structure between artificial and natural rocky intertidal zones. The fauna in the natural rocky intertidal zones were similar to each other and the fauna in the artificial rocky intertidal zones were divided depending on the slope of the substratum. In the case of a sloping tetrapod, M. labio confusa and P. mitella were dominant, but at the vertical artificial seawall, Cellana nigrolineata, L. exotica T. japonica were dominant. The analysis of the species presented in natural and artificial rocky intertidal areas showed the exclusive presence of 10 species on natural rocks and 12 species on artificial rocks. The species in the natural rocky intertidal area included mobile gastropods and cnidarians (i.e. rock anemones), and the species in the artificial rocky intertidal area mostly included non-mobile attached animals. The artificial novel structure seems to contribute to increasing the heterogeneity of habitats for marine invertebrate species and an increase the species diversity in rocky coastal areas.     

Combined effect of the East Atlantic/West Russia and Western Pacific teleconnections on the East Asian winter monsoon

This study investigates the individual effects of the East Atlantic/West Russia (EATL/WRUS) and Western Pacific (WP) teleconnection patterns and their combined effect on the East Asian winter monsoon (EAWM). The contributions of the respective EATL/WRUS and WP teleconnection patterns to the EAWM are revealed by removing the dependence on the Arctic Oscillation (AO) and the El Niño-Southern Oscillation (ENSO) using a linear regression, which are named as N_EATL/WRUS and N_WP, respectively. This is because the EATL/WRUS (WP) is closely linked to the Arctic (tropics) region. A significant increase (decrease) in temperature over East Asia (EA) corresponding to a weak (strong) EAWM is associated with the N_EATL/WRUS and N_WP teleconnection patterns during the positive (negative) phases. In order to examine impacts of these two teleconnections on the EAWM, three types of effects are reconstructed on the basis of ± 0.5 standard deviation: 1) Combined effect, 2) N_EATL/WRUS effect, and 3) N_WP effect. The positive N_EATL/WRUS teleconnection induces to a weakened Siberian High and a shallow EA trough at the mid-troposphere through wave propagation, leading to the weak EAWM. During the positive N_WP pattern, warm air from the tropics flows toward the EA along western flank of an anomalous anticyclone over the North Pacific that is relevant to the meridional shift of the Aleutian Low. When the two mid-latitude teleconnections have the in-phase combination, the increase in temperature over EA appears to be more pronounced than the individual effects by transporting warm air from tropics via strong southeasterly wind anomalies induced by anomalous zonal pressure gradient between the Siberian High and Aleutian Low. Therefore, the impact of the mid-latitude teleconnections on the EAWM becomes robust and linearly superimposed, unlike a nonlinear in-phase combined effect of the AO and ENSO.     

Sediment reworking by a polychaete, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Perinereis aibuhitensis</Emphasis>, in the intertidal sediments of the Gomso Bay,Korea

Bioturbation, especially sediment reworking by the activities of macroinvertebrates, such as feeding and burrowing, is one of the major processes that affect the physical, chemical, and biological characteristics of marine sediments. Given the importance of sediment reworking, this study was designed to evaluate the sediment reworking rate of a polychaete, Perinereis aibuhitensis, which is dominant in the upper tidal flats on the west coast of Korea, based on quantification of pellet production during spring and fall surveys. The density of individuals was higher in fall than in spring, whereas, due to a difference in the proportion of adults between the two seasons, the morphometric dimensions of the worm and its pellets were significantly longer and heavier in the spring. Hourly pellet production per inhabitant and density were closely related, with pellet production gradually decreasing as density increased. Daily pellet production was much higher in spring than in fall, mostly due to an increase in daytime production. The sediment reworking rate of Perinereis was similar in the two seasons in which observations were made and depended on its density and the sediment reworking rate per individual. The overall sediment reworking rate of Perinereis was 31 mm yr^?1 based on its density in the study area.     

Variations in the abundance of fisheries resources and ecosystem structure in the Japan/East Sea

Evidence supports the hypothesis that two climatic regime shifts in the North Pacific and the Japan/East Sea, have affected the dynamics of the marine ecosystem and fisheries resources from 1960 to 2000. Changes in both mixed layer depth (MLD) and primary production were detected in the Japan/East Sea after 1976. The 1976 regime shift appears to have caused the biomass replacement with changes in catch production of major exploited fisheries resources, including Pacific saury, Pacific sardine and filefish. Both fisheries yield and fish distribution are reflected in these decadal fluctuations. In the 1960s and 1990s, common squid dominated the catches whereas in the 1970s and 1980s, it was replaced by walleye pollock. In the post-1988 regime shift, the distribution of horse mackerel shifted westward and southward and its distributional overlap with common mackerel decreased. The habitat of Pacific sardine also shifted away from mackerel habitats during this period. To evaluate changes in the organization and structure of the ecosystem in the Japan/East Sea, a mass-balanced model, Ecopath, was employed. Based on two mass-balanced models, representing before (1970–75) and after (1978–84) the 1976 regime shift, the weighted mean trophic level of catch increased from 3.09 before to 3.28 after. Total biomass of species groups in the Japan/East Sea ecosystem increased by 15% and total catch production increased by 48% due to the 1976 regime shift. The largest changes occurred at mid-trophic levels, occupied by fishes and cephalopods. The dominant predatory species shifted from cephalopods to walleye pollock due to the 1976 regime shift. It is concluded that the climatic regime shifts caused changes in the structure of the ecosystem and the roles of major species, as well as, large variations in biomass and production of fisheries resources.     

Hammer Efficiency and Correction Factors for the TxDOT Texas Cone Penetration Test

This study analyzes blowcount data from instrumented Texas Cone Penetration (TCP) tests. TCP hammer efficiency, rod length influence on the hammer efficiency, and overburden pressure correction factors for the TCP blowcounts (N_TCP) are explored. Results are compared to published correction factors for the standard penetration test (SPT). The final dataset analyzed for this study consisted of 293 TCP tests from which 135 tests were instrumented. TCP hammer efficiency values for automatic trip hammers ranged from 74 to 101% with an average of 89%. Analyses showed a statistically-significant relationship between the TCP hammer efficiency and the rod length below ground surface. Statistical models were developed for undifferentiated soils, and corresponding rod length correction factors for the TCP test (C_R-TCP) were obtained ranging from 0.90 to 1.00. In a second analysis, the relationship between the overburden pressure and N_TCP was explored and a mathematical expression for the overburden correction factor for the TCP blowcount value (C_N-TCP) was determined. This work represents the first study where corrections to N_TCP are explored, and the outcome of this research benefits the geotechnical engineering community using the TCP test and its associated foundation design method.     

Release and toxicity comparison between industrial- and sunscreen-derived nano-ZnO particles

Many consumer products containing ZnO have raised concern for safety in regard to environmental impact and the public health. Widely used sunscreens for protecting against UV and avoiding sunburns represent a great exposure to nano-ZnO, one of the ingredients commonly applied in sunscreens. Applying nanoproducts on beaches may release nanoparticles unintentionally into the ocean. Despite the accumulation of such nanoproducts in the ocean harming or being detrimental to critical marine organisms, few studies have investigated the release and potential toxicity of nanoparticles extracted from products and compared them with those from industrial-type nanoparticles. Results show that the cytotoxicity of both industrial- and sunscreen-derived nano-ZnO to the marine diatom algae, Thalassiosira pseudonana, increased as exposure increases over time, as measured by growth inhibition (%) of the algae at a constant concentration of nano-ZnO (10 mg/L). The extent of toxicity appeared to be higher from industrial-type nano-ZnO compared with sunscreen-extracted nano-ZnO, though the extent becomes similar when concentrations increase to 50 mg/L. On the other hand, at a fixed exposure time of 48 h, the cytotoxicity increases as concentrations increase with the higher toxicity shown from the industrial-type compared with sunscreen-induced nano-ZnO. Results indicate that while industrial-type nano-ZnO shows higher toxicity than sunscreen-derived nano-ZnO, the release and extent of toxicity from nano-ZnO extracted from sunscreen are not trivial and should be monitored for the development of safe manufacturing of nanomaterials-induced products.     

Physicochemical characteristics for adsorption of MTBE and cadmium on clay minerals

Physicochemical characteristics relevant to the adsorption of MTBE and Cd on three types of clay minerals were investigated. The characteristics were examined through batch adsorption tests conducted under various experimental conditions such as adsorption time, ratio of solution-to soil, concentration of solutes, concentration of organic matters, pH, and zeta potential. The adsorption efficiency of MTBE or Cd on three types of clays decreased in response to an increase of the ratio of solution-to-soil; nevertheless, the adsorbed amounts inversely increased. MTBE was adsorbed on clays in an increasing order of vermiculite, bentonite, and CTAB-bentonite. However, Cd was adsorbed in a different order of bentonite, vermiculite, and CTAB-bentonite. The adsorption of MTBE was well fitted with the Freundlich model, whereas the Cd was more closely suited to a Langmuir equation. By adding humic acids of 1 and 5%, MTBE was significantly adsorbed on bentonite and vermiculite, respectively, but beyond that, its adsorption was diminished. In comparison, the adsorption on CTAB-bentonite was increased in proportion to the humic acids addition. Likewise, the addition of humic acids acted to increase the adsorption of Cd regardless of the types of adsorbent, where up to 90% of Cd was removed at pH 10. Further increase of pH declined the degree of zeta potential, while increasing Cd concentration also lowered the zeta potential, which consequently contributes in enhancing the adsorption efficiency of Cd on clays.