Rare-earth and trace elements in the Quaternary volcanic rocks of Hokkaido,Japan

Seven rare-earth elements (La, Ce, Sm, Eu, Tb, Yb, Lu) and Co, Cr, Sc, Ba, Hf and Th have been determined by non-destructive neutron activation analysis on the Quaternary volcanic rocks in Hokkaido, Japan. The trace-element abundances are discussed in terms of the petrological problems, particularly the origin of calc-alkali magma. On the basis of the La/Sm ratio and the contents of K, Ba, Th and La, lateral variations in the contents of trace elements exist across the Kurile and the northern Honshū arcs. The calc-alkali rocks can be classified into three types which correspond to Kuno's three basalt-magma types. There is no essential difference in the rare-earth patterns between the basaltic rocks and the associated calc-alkali rocks in each petrographic province. This suggests that the calcalkali rocks may be derived from the basaltic magmas by fractional crystallization under certain conditions.     

Phytoplankton diversity in a tropical bay,North Borneo,Malaysia as revealed by light microscopy and Next-Generation Sequencing

Assessments of phytoplankton diversity in Sabah waters, North Borneo, have primarily relied on morphology-based identification, which has inherent biases and can be time-consuming. Next-Generation Sequencing (NGS) technology has been shown to be capable of overcoming several limitations of morphology-based methods. Samples were collected from the Sepanggar Bay over the course of the year 2018 in different monsoon seasons. Morphology-based identification and NGS sequencing of the V8–V9 region of the 18S LSU rDNA were used to investigate the diversity of the phytoplankton community. Microscopy and NGS showed complementary results with more diatom taxa detected by microscopy whereas NGS detected smaller and rarer taxa. The harmful algal genera in the study site comprised of Skeletonema, Margalefidinium, Pyrodinium, Takayama, and Alexandrium as detected by NGS. This study showed that that an integrative approach of both morphological and molecular techniques could provide more comprehensive information about the phytoplankton community as the approach captured quantitative variability as well as the diversity of phytoplankton species.     

Atoll island vulnerability to flooding and inundation revealed by historical reconstruction: Fongafale Islet, Funafuti Atoll, Tuvalu

The reef islands formed on coral atolls are generally small, low, and flat, with elevations of only a few meters. These islands are thus highly vulnerable to elevated sea levels caused by extreme events and global warming. Such vulnerability was recently evidenced at Fongafale Islet, the capital of Tuvalu, when it flooded during accelerated spring high tides possibly related to sea level rise caused by global warming. Many factors, not only environmental but also economic and social, determine the vulnerability of an island to sea level rise. In this study, we used data spanning 108 yrs to reconstruct changes in topography, land use/cover, population, and the distribution of buildings at Fongafale Islet. The results indicate that the vulnerability of Fongafale Islet relates to its original landform characteristics: the central part of the island was formerly dominated by swampland that flooded at high tides. Fongafale Islet experienced greater population in-migration and centralization beginning in the 1970s following the independence of Tuvalu and Kiribati. Migrants were also responding to declines in overseas mining operations and limited options for paid employment. As the population increased, construction took place in vulnerable swampland areas. Our results clearly demonstrate that examinations of global environmental issues should focus on characteristics specific to the region of interest. These characteristics should be specified using historical reconstruction to understand and address the vulnerability of an area to global environmental changes.     

Baroclinic oscillations of tidal frequency at ocean weather station P

Abstract

We analyse time series records of isopleth depths derived from two extended sequences of hourly and bi‐hourly sampled profiles taken at Ocean Weather Station P during the summers of 1961 and 1969. Vertical displacements to 240‐m depth are mainly of semidiurnal frequency with r.m.s. amplitudes of 1–4 m. Displacements at diurnal and near‐inertial frequencies are typically less than a metre and have little statistical significance. Within the semidiurnal band, motions appear to be predominantly at the principal solar (S₂) rather than the principal lunar (M₂) semidiurnal frequency. The phase of the M₂ baroclinic tide is roughly equal to that of the M₂ barotropic tide (as extrapolated from coastal and seamount observations); phases of other constituents differ appreciably from barotropic values.     

A note on climate change adaptation for seaports: a challenge for global ports, a challenge for global society

With 80 % of world trade carried by sea, seaports provide crucial linkages in global supply-chains and are essential for the ability of all countries to access global markets. Seaports are likely to be affected directly and indirectly by climatic changes, with broader implications for international trade and development. Due to their coastal location, seaports are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events associated with increasing sea levels and tropical storm activity, as illustrated by hurricane “Sandy”. In view of their strategic role as part of the globalized trading system, adapting ports in different parts of the world to the impacts of climate change is of considerable importance. Reflecting the views of a diverse group of stakeholders with expertise in climate science, engineering, economics, policy, and port management, this essay highlights the climate change challenge for ports and suggests a way forward through the adoption of some initial measures. These include both “soft” and “hard” adaptations that may be spearheaded by individual port entities, but will require collaboration and support from a broad range of public and private sector stakeholders and from society at large. In particular, the essay highlights a need to shift to more holistic planning, investment and operation.     

Observation of hydrogen peroxide concentrations in a Japanese red pine forest

In order to study the concentrations of hydrogen peroxide (H₂O₂) and the factors controlling its concentrations, we monitored concentrations of H₂O₂ and other gases such as sulfur dioxide, ozone, and NO _x as well as meteorological factors such as air temperature, relative humidity, and wind direction/speed during eight measurement periods from 2000 to 2002 in a Japanese red pine forest in Japan. The H₂O₂ concentrations ranged from below 0.01 to 1.64 ppb, and analysis of the diurnal variation in H₂O₂ concentration showed high concentrations around noon, and low concentrations in the morning and late afternoon. The H₂O₂ concentrations were high in early summer, when O₃ concentration, temperature, and solar radiation were high, and were low in fall, when O₃ concentration, temperature, and solar radiation were low. We propose that O₃ concentration affects the production of H₂O₂ in the monitored region during the period under study, but that high H₂O₂ concentrations were sometimes caused by the transport of polluted air from urban regions. H₂O₂ concentrations decreased remarkably when SO₂ concentrations increased by transported volcanic emission on Miyake Island. In the absence of the effects of SO₂, H₂O₂ concentrations increased with increasing O₃ concentration and temperature.     

Dynamic Behaviour of a Caisson Quaywall Under Strong Earthquake

—Effective stress analysis is performed to evaluate the residual displacement of a caissonquaywall during 1994 Hokkaido-Toho-Oki Earthquake and 1993 Kushiro-Oki Earthquake.Theconstitutive model used in this study is a multiple shear mechanism type defined in strain space and cantake into account the effect of rotation of principal stress axis.The earthquake accelerations recorded atthe outcropping rock during the earthquake are used as input bedrock motion.The results of finite ele-ment analysis are in good agreement with the observed behaviour of the quaywall.The analysis also indi-cates that liquefaction and high excess pore water pressure have a significant effect on the deformation ofthe caisson.Soil improvement is speculated as the most reliable measures against liquefaction.The influ-ence of soil improvement and the reasonable improved area are discussed in the paper.     

Improving integrity of RC beam-column joints with deficient beam rebar anchorage

In recent earthquakes in developing countries, severe damage was observed on reinforced concrete buildings. This study focuses on exterior beam-column joints with substandard beam rebar anchorage and seismic strengthening by installing wing walls. First, a series of experiments was conducted to investigate the seismic behavior of exterior joints with substandard beam rebar anchorage representing typical Bangladeshi buildings. Two 0.7-scaled exterior joint specimens were tested, and these specimens showed beam rebar anchorage failure and/or joint shear failure. Prior to strengthening of the joint, a series of pullout tests was conducted on postinstalled bonded anchors in low-strength concrete for strengthening design. Then, an experiment was performed to apply the strengthening method by wing walls to one of the exterior joint specimens to improve the integrity, and this method was intended to prevent the failure of beam rebar anchorage. The strengthening method is proposed to extend the development length of beam longitudinal bars by considering the embedment length along the wing walls. The test results verified the effectiveness and applicability of the proposed strengthening method to upgrade exterior RC beam-column joints with deficient beam rebar anchorage.     

A DEM-based evaluation of potential flood risk to enhance decision support system for safe evacuation

A practical, DEM-based practical method is proposed to enhance flood risk management in fluvial areas by quantifying relative risk as a function of vulnerability to inland and evacuation difficulty. Both measures are based mainly on the topography of the region, so the method does not require detailed data on the physical characteristics of the land. First, we use the deterministic 8-node method on a digital elevation map (DEM) to trace storm waterways. Second, we repeat the process on a reversed DEM to trace evacuation routes that avoid the waterways and zones dangerously close to the rivers. Finally, on the basis of such two flow lines of evacuee and storm water, we proposed the protocol to evaluate the flood risk at every point on the map taking into account both the minimum time required for floodwater to arrive and duration of an evacuation from that location. The time that must be allocated for safe evacuation is defined as the potential flood risk of evacuation (PFRE). The method is demonstrated on a fluvial area of the Kaki River in Nagaoka city, Japan. In addition, we illustrated the application of the PFRE map to divide the region into areas of greater or lesser evacuation urgency.     

Japan’s Nation-Wide Electronic Geotechnical Database Systems by Japanese Geotechnical Society

On October 15, 2010, the Japanese Geotechnical Society (JGS) announced the public release of ‘Nation-wide Electronic Geotechnical Database Systems,’ which provides geotechnical information to the public on the internet. The information the system provides is a collection of ground models at 250 m by 250 m in plan built by using data from various geotechnical information databases. The paper first describes historical development of the geotechnical information databases in Japan, and introduces a 5-year project, ‘Integrated Geophysical and Geological Information Database in Japan,’ led by the National Research Institute for Earth Science and Disaster Prevention (NIED), and participated by the JGS. The paper then presents the JGS’ ‘Nation-wide Electronic Geotechnical Database Systems,’ and describes why such system was proposed and built, followed by the presentation of the examples for possible application of the system.