Albedo enhancement of marine clouds to counteract global warming: impacts on the hydrological cycle

Recent studies have shown that changes in solar radiation affect the hydrological cycle more strongly than equivalent CO₂ changes for the same change in global mean surface temperature. Thus, solar radiation management ??geoengineering?? proposals to completely offset global mean temperature increases by reducing the amount of absorbed sunlight might be expected to slow the global water cycle and reduce runoff over land. However, proposed countering of global warming by increasing the albedo of marine clouds would reduce surface solar radiation only over the oceans. Here, for an idealized scenario, we analyze the response of temperature and the hydrological cycle to increased reflection by clouds over the ocean using an atmospheric general circulation model coupled to a mixed layer ocean model. When cloud droplets are reduced in size over all oceans uniformly to offset the temperature increase from a doubling of atmospheric CO₂, the global-mean precipitation and evaporation decreases by about 1.3% but runoff over land increases by 7.5% primarily due to increases over tropical land. In the model, more reflective marine clouds cool the atmospheric column over ocean. The result is a sinking motion over oceans and upward motion over land. We attribute the increased runoff over land to this increased upward motion over land when marine clouds are made more reflective. Our results suggest that, in contrast to other proposals to increase planetary albedo, offsetting mean global warming by reducing marine cloud droplet size does not necessarily lead to a drying, on average, of the continents. However, we note that the changes in precipitation, evaporation and P-E are dominated by small but significant areas, and given the highly idealized nature of this study, a more thorough and broader assessment would be required for proposals of altering marine cloud properties on a large scale.     

Late Quaternary sediments on the outer shelf of the Korea Strait and their paleoceanographic implications

Sedimentological and micropaleontological characteristics of core sediments from the outer shelf of the Korea Strait, which connects the northern East China Sea and the East Sea (Sea of Japan), were investigated to elucidate the paleoceanographic environment, especially the timing of the Kuroshio inflow, since the last glacial maximum. The core sediments, containing continuous records of the last 15,000 years, are characterized by a relatively high mud content (more than 50%, on average) and well-developed tide-influenced sedimentary structures. Their mineralogy suggests that the material originated from the paleo-Nakdong River system, which extended across the shelf of the Korea Strait during low sea-level periods. Planktonic foraminifers reveal a series of well-defined changes in paleoceanographic conditions during the late Pleistocene–Holocene. Down-core variations in the abundance of four foraminiferal assemblages, i.e., cold, coastal, tropical–subtropical, and Kuroshio water groups comprising characteristic planktonic species, suggest the occurrence of a distinct paleoenvironmental change in the surface water at 7,000 years b.p., i.e., from 15,000 to 7,000 years b.p., the area was influenced by coastal waters whereas since ca. 7,000 years b.p., it has been under the influence of open-sea water related to the Kuroshio Current flow, associated with both higher temperature and higher salinity. In particular, Pulleniatina obliquiloculata increased markedly in abundance at this time, documenting the inflow of the Kuroshio into the study area. These data indicate that the coastal water stage terminated at ca. 7,000 years b.p. when the warm Kuroshio and its major branch, the Tsushima Current, began to flow into the East Sea, as is the case today. The intrusion of the Tsushima Current through the Korea Strait after ca. 7,000 years b.p. resulted in abrupt changes in sedimentation rates and a dramatic increase in abundance of the Kuroshio indicator species, P. obliquiloculata.     

Microbial Diversity of Deep-sea Sediments from Three Newly Discovered Hydrothermal Vent Fields in the Central Indian Ridge

Since the discovery of hydrothermal vents in the late 1970s, deep-sea hydrothermal vent fields have attracted great attention as biological hotspots. However, compared with other ocean ridges, the structure and function of microbial communities inhabiting vent fields in the Central Indian ridge (CIR) remain understudied. Here, we provide for the first time 16S rRNA gene-based comparative metagenomic analysis of the sediment-associated microbial communities from three newly discovered vent fields in the CIR. Sediment samples collected in the Invent B, Invent E and Onnuri vent fields varied in geochemical properties, elemental concentrations and associated microbial communities. Proteobacteria (Gammaproteobacteria) was the dominant phylum in Invent B and Onnuri vent fields. In contrast, Invent E mainly consisted of Chloroflexi and Euryarchaeota. Predicted functional profiling revealed that the microbial communities in the three vents are dominated by chemoheterotrophic functions. In addition, microbial communities capable of respiration of sulfur compounds, nitrification, nitrite oxidation, methylotrophy, and methanotropy were found to be the main chemolithoautotrophs. Compared to other vent fields, Invent E showed a predominance of archaeal methanogens suggesting it exhibits slightly different geochemistry. Multivariate analysis indicated that the biogeochemical and trace metal differences are reflected in the sediment microbial compositions of the three vent fields. This study expands our current understanding of the microbial community structure and potential ecological functions of the newly discovered hydrothermal vent fields in the CIR.

     

Stress integration approach to evaluate damping ratio in torsional tests

The complexity of determining strain associated with shear modulus and damping ratio in torsional tests has been resolved by means of several approaches. The stress integration approach is adequate when generating the plots of equivalent radius ratio versus strain more effectively over any range of strains in resonant column and torsional shear (RC/TS) tests. The stress integration approach was applied for hyperbolic, modified hyperbolic, and Ramberg–Osgood models in evaluating damping ratio. This study showed that using a single value of equivalent radius ratio in evaluating damping ratio is not appropriate. The combined hysteretic‐nonviscous damping model was developed and employed to consider the increased damping behavior at small strains using the stress integration approach. The results suggest that adding viscous behavior has no significant effect strain calculations in RC/TS testing. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Elasto‐plastic seepage‐induced stresses due to tunneling

When tunneling is carried out beneath the groundwater table, hydraulic boundary is altered, resulting in seepage entering into the tunnel. The development of flow into the tunnel induces seepage stresses in the ground and the lining is subjected to additional loads. This can often cause fine particles to move, which clog the filter resulting in the long‐term hydraulic deterioration of the drainage system. However, the effect of seepage force is generally not considered in the analysis of tunnel. While several elastic solutions have been proposed by assuming seepage in an elastic medium, stress solutions have not been considered for the seepage force in a porous elasto‐plastic medium. This paper documents a study that investigates the stress behavior, caused by seepage, of a tunnel in an elasto‐plastic ground and its effects on the tunnel and ground. New elasto‐plastic solutions that adopt the Mohr–Coulomb failure criterion are proposed for a circular tunnel under radial flow conditions. A simple solution based on the hydraulic gradient obtained from a numerical parametric study is also proposed for practical use. It should be noted that the simple equation is useful for acquiring additional insight into a problem on a tunnel under drainage, because only a minimal computational effort is needed and considerable economic benefits can be gained by using it in the preliminary stage of tunnel design. The proposed equations were partly validated by numerical analysis, and their applicability is illustrated and discussed using an example problem. Comments on the tunnel analysis are also provided. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Characterization of groundwater quality in Kinmen Island using multivariate analysis and geochemical modelling

Kinmen is located in the south‐west of Mainland China and mainly has two islands, Large Kinmen and Leiyu. Residents in Kinmen have drunk groundwater over several decades. This work characterized the quality of groundwater in Kinmen using factor analysis (FA), cluster analysis (CA) and geochemical simulation. The factor scores were plotted spatially to illustrate the groundwater quality and were used to discuss the grouped relationship using CA. Salinization, redox and organic matter factors are identified from 17 hydrochemical measurements in 18 wells. Acidic and oxidizing groundwater with nitrate‐N pollution is distributed mainly in the west of Large Kinmen. Saline groundwater is distributed to the north‐east of Large Kinmen and in the south of Leiyu. Groundwater with organic matter is present throughout Leiyu. Five groups of the groundwater quality divided by CA can be interpreted according to one to three factors. The grouped characteristics of the groundwater quality help the local government and industries to plan the use and protection of groundwater resources. Furthermore, a geochemical simulation was used to demonstrate the formation processes of the acidic and oxidizing groundwater properties in granitic sediments. A large amount of the precipitation of the kaolinite and magnetite releases concentrations of hydrogen ion and raises the redox potential in the aquifers. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Fault system of the 2004 Mid Niigata Prefecture Earthquake and its aftershocks

Data recorded by a seismic network deployed the day after the 2004 Mid Niigata Prefecture Earthquake (M6.8) in central Japan are used to determine the major source faults responsible for the mainshock and major aftershocks. Using this high-resolution seismic data, three major source faults are identified: two parallel faults dipping steeply to the west located 5 km apart, and the other dipping eastward and oriented perpendicular to the west-dipping faults. The analysis also reveals that the lateral variation in seismic velocity observed at the surface extends to a depth of 15 km, encompassing the source area of the mainshock. This strong heterogeneity of the crust, related to the complex geological and tectonic evolution of the area, is considered to be responsible for the prominent aftershock activity following the 2004 Niigata event.     

Forest fire ash impact on micro- and macroalgae in the receiving waters of the east coast of South Korea

Mountain forest fire ash flushed into the eastern coastal waters of South Korea is known to contain cadmium as one of its significant constituents. To study its impact, two representatives of the micro- and macroalgal communities, Ulva pertusa and Nannochloropsis oculata, were exposed to the concentration range of Cd indicated from the forest fire localities. At low concentrations of 0.224–0.448 mg L⁻¹, a 20% reduction in growth rate of N. oculata was observed. Chlorophyll a pigment concentration was proportionate to the growth reduction while at higher concentrations (1.792 mg L⁻¹) pigments were completely leached. In the macrophyte U. pertusa, a similar trend of pigment leaching was observed. Bioaccumulation factors obtained for these rapidly growing algal species revealed excessive bioconcentration of Cd. Variations in the concentration of Cd among the samples collected along the Korean coast clearly indicated the additional source of metal influx from the forest fires.     

Evaluating impacts of pulse fishing on the effectiveness of seasonal closure

Seasonal fishing closures are often used in fisheries management to conserve overfished stocks.As one of the unintended consequences,fishermen often contend for maximizing catches immediately after reopening fisheries.The resultant large catch landings in a short time period(i.e.,pulse fishing)may undermine the benefit of closure.We implemented an end-to-end model OSMOSE-JZB(Object-oriented Simulator of Marine ec OSystem Exploitation OSMOSE)modelling ecosystem in the Jiaozhou Bay located in China to evaluate the impact of pulse fishing on the effectiveness of seasonal closure at levels of fish community,population,and individual.Our study demonstrated that the three-month closure was successful in conserving fish stocks.There were small variations on ecological indicators(i.e.,total biomass of the community,mean trophic level of the community,mean trophic level of the catch,and Shannon-Wiener biodiversity index)when pulse fishing occurred.Pulse fishing seemed not to result in a great shift in community structure.Compared to other species,the biomass of two large predatory fishes were more susceptible to pulse fishing.Pulse fishing could change the pressure of predators to fish stocks via food webs,especially for young individuals.Our simulations indicate that we can improve the effectiveness of seasonal closure by managing pulse fishing.Although the results derived in this study may be specific to the target ecosystem,the general approach is applicable to other ecosystems when evaluating fishing impacts.     

Behavior of sand–rubber particle mixtures: experimental observations and numerical simulations

A series of laboratory experiments and numerical simulations are conducted to explore the characteristics of mixtures composed of sand and rubber particles of the same median diameter. The mixtures are prepared with different volumetric sand fractions (sf = V_sand/V_total). The experiment focuses on assessing the strain level on the characteristics of the mixture with the volume fraction of each component. Numerical simulations using the discrete element method are performed to obtain insight into the microscale behavior and internal mechanism of the mixtures. The experimental results show that the behavior of the mixtures is dependent on the relative sand and rubber particles composition with variation in the strain levels. The numerical simulation reveals the effect of the soft rubber particle inclusion in the mixture on the micromechanical parameters. In low sand fraction mixtures, a high shear stress along the contact is mobilized, and the stress state is driven to a more anisotropic condition because of the relatively high particle friction angle of the rubber. The rubber particles play different roles with the strain level in the mixture, including increasing the coordination number and controlling plasticity of the mixture in a small strain, preventing buckling of the force chain in an intermediate strain, and leading to contractive behavior in a large strain. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.