Assessing the vegetation canopy influences on wind flow using wind tunnel experiments with artificial plants

Wind erosion causes serious problems and considerable threat in most regions of the world. Vegetation on the ground has an important role in controlling wind erosion by covering soil surface and absorbing wind momentum. A set of wind tunnel experiments was performed to quantitatively examine the effect of canopy structure on wind movement. Artificial plastic vegetations with different porosity and canopy shape were introduced as the model canopy. Normalized roughness length (Z ₀/H) and shear velocity ratio (R) were analyzed as a function of roughness density (λ). Experiments showed that Z ₀/H increases and R decreases as λ reaches a maximum value, λ _max, while the values of Z ₀/H and R showed little change with λ value beyond as λ _max.     

朝鲜半岛古元古代摩天岭群的碎屑锆石U-Pb年龄及其地质意义

克拉通内部活动带变质沉积建造蕴藏了早期超大陆形成中地体聚-散动力学过程的重要信息,碎屑锆石年代学则是揭示这种信息的最佳工具之一。针对华北(中-朝)克拉通最具代表性的古元古代活动带(辽-吉-朝活动带)中巨量沉积建造精细表征方面的空白区域,本文开展了朝鲜半岛检德地区摩天岭群的碎屑锆石年代学研究。SIMS U-Pb定年结果显示,北大川组变火山碎屑岩样品的锆石年龄谱记录了约2.53Ga的主要年龄峰值和约2.19Ga的最年轻峰值,说明北大川组开始沉积的时代应该晚于2.2Ga。南大川组变沉积岩样品碎屑锆石记录的最年轻峰值年龄为约2.02Ga,说明南大川组的沉积时代应该不早于2.02Ga;其锆石年龄谱记录了一个主要年龄峰值区域(2.02~2.18Ga)、一个次要年龄峰值(约2.46Ga)和一些2.78~3.30 Ga的古老年龄,指示其物质源区主要为同区古元古代地质体和邻近地体上的太古宙变质基底。区域对比表明,摩天岭群与中国境内辽吉活动带中的辽河群及集安群/老岭群具有基本一致的碎屑锆石年龄谱,说明它们不仅是同一时代的产物,而且分享类似的物质源区。这些时代一致、物源相近的沉积建造可以为甄别古元古代辽-吉-朝活动带的大地构造属性提供重要参考。与沉积年龄相近的碎屑锆石占据主导的碎屑锆石年龄谱反映了汇聚板块边缘各类盆地的典型特征,而相悖于大部分碎屑锆石年龄远大于地层沉积年龄的裂谷型盆地。     

Quality control methods for KOOS operational sea surface temperature products

Sea surface temperature SST obtained from the initial version of the Korea Operational Oceanographic System(KOOS) SST satellite have low accuracy during summer and daytime. This is attributed to the diurnal warming effect. Error estimation of SST data must be carried out to use the real-time forecasting numerical model of the KOOS. This study suggests two quality control methods for the KOOS SST system. To minimize the diurnal warming effect, SSTs of areas where wind speed is higher than 5 m/s were used. Depending on the wind threshold value, KOOS SST data for August 2014 were reduced by 0.15°C. Errors in SST data are considered to be a combination of random, sampling, and bias errors. To estimate bias error, the standard deviation of bias between KOOS SSTs and climatology SSTs were used. KOOS SST data yielded an analysis error standard deviation value similar to OSTIA and NOAA NCDC(OISST) data. The KOOS SST shows lower random and sampling errors with increasing number of observations using six satellite datasets. In further studies, the proposed quality control methods for the KOOS SST system will be applied through more long-term case studies and comparisons with other SST systems.     

Latitudinal change in benthic foraminiferal fauna by ITCZ movement along the ~131°W transect in the equatorial Pacific Ocean

Modern and fossil benthic foraminifera were examined from nine surface sediments and two piston cores along the ~131°W transect in the equatorial Pacific Ocean. This study was conducted to clarify the biotic response of abyssal benthic foraminifera during the last 220 ka to changes in the seasonal extent of the Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ). The abundance of modern benthic foraminifera was high at stations between the equator and 6°N, whereas it was low at stations north of 6°N, which is generally consistent with the latitudinal CaCO₃ distribution of surface sediments. The northward increase of Epistominella exigua from the equator to ~6°N is similar to the seasonal variations in chlorophyll-a concentrations in the surface water and ITCZ position along ~131°W. This species was more common at core PC5103 (~6°N) than at core PC5101 (~2°N) after ~130 ka, when the Shannon-Wiener diversity (H’) between the two cores started to diverge. Hence, the presentday latitudinal difference in benthic foraminifera (E. exigua and species diversity) between ~2°N and ~6°N along ~131°W has been generally established since ~130 ka. According to the modern relationship between the seasonality of primary production and seasonal ITCZ variations in the northern margin of the ITCZ, the latitudinal divergence of benthic foraminiferal fauna between ~2°N and ~6°N since ~130 ka appear to have been induced by more distinct variations in the seasonal movement of ITCZ.     

Rare earth element fingerprints in Korean coastal bay sediments: Association with provenance discrimination

Rare earth elements (REEs: La-Lu) in surface sediments collected from the mouth and middle tidal flats of Gomso Bay, South Korea, in August 2011 and May 2012 were analyzed to investigate the fine-grained sediment provenance. The upper continental crust (UCC)-normalized light REEs (LREEs: La to Nd) were more enriched than the middle REEs (MREEs: Sm to Dy) and heavy REEs (HREEs: Ho to Lu), resulting in large (La/Yb)_UCC (1.9 ± 0.4) to (Gd/Yb)_UCC (1.4 ± 0.2) ratios. The monthly (La/Yb)_UCC values differed between the mouth and middle tidal flats due to deposition of fine-grained sediments that originated from distant rivers (the Geum and Yeongsan) and the Jujin Stream, located on the southern shore of the inner bay. We observed relative reductions in the (La/Yb)_UCC value and REE content in the sediments from the mouth of the bay compared with those from Jujin Stream sediments. Confined to the middle tidal flat around the KH Line of Jujin Stream, the sediments, most enriched in LREEs but depleted in Eu, were distributed in August as strong Jujin Stream runs. Here, we suggest that an increase in LREE/HREE and decrease in MREE/LREE ratios can be used as a proxy to identify the Jujin Stream provenance in mixed riverine sediments and to trace Jujin Stream sediments within the Gomso Bay tidal flat, especially in the summer rainy season.     

A Review on Marine N2 Fixation: Mechanism,Evolution of Methodologies,Rates, and Future Concerns

Ocean Science Journal - Investigations on marine N2 fixation have gained momentum since 1960s with eventual establishments of relevant methodologies to identify species involved and quantify the...     

Late Paleozoic tectonic evolution in northern Korean Peninsula

Since Late Proterozoic era, the Korean Peninsula has been evolved into a state with relatively stable regions and orogenic belts which were developed differently each other. The Late Paleozoie （Late Carboniferous-Early Triassic） sediments are well developed in the Korean Peninsula, and called the Pyongan System. The Pyongan System from Late Carboniferous to Lower Triassic is distributed in the Pyongnan and Hyesan-Riwon Basins, and Rangrim Massif, and divided into Hongjom （ C2 ）, Ripsok （ C2 ）, Sadong （ C2-P1 ）, Kobangsan and Rokam （Taezhawon） （P2-T1） sequences. The sediments of the Tumangang Orogenic Belt are called Tuman System which is composed of the Amgi Series, consisting of elastic formation with mafic effusive material, overlaid by the Kyeryongsan Series, consisting mainly of marie volcano sediments. The Songsang Series which rests on the Kyeryongsan Series mainly consists of elastic formation with minor felsic effusive material. In the Tumangang Orogenic Belt the tectonic movement, called Tumangang Tectonic Movement, occurred in the Lower Permian-Lower Triassic.     

Down-scaled regional ocean modeling system (ROMS) for high-resolution coastal hydrodynamics in Korea

A down-scaled operational oceanographic system is developed for the coastal waters of Korea using a regional ocean modeling system(ROMS).The operational oceanographic modeling system consists of atmospheric and hydrodynamic models.The hydrodynamic model,ROMS,is coupled with wave,sediment transport,and water quality modules.The system forecasts the predicted results twice a day on a 72 h basis,including sea surface elevation,currents,temperature,salinity,storm surge height,and wave information for the coastal waters of Korea.The predicted results are exported to the web-GIS-based coastal information system for real-time dissemination to the public and validation with real-time monitoring data using visualization technologies.The ROMS is two-way coupled with a simulating waves nearshore model,SWAN,for the hydrodynamics and waves,nested with the meteorological model,WRF,for the atmospheric surface forcing,and externally nested with the eutrophication model,CE-QUAL-ICM,for the water quality.The operational model,ROMS,was calibrated with the tidal surface observed with a tide-gage and verified with current data observed by bottom-mounted ADCP or AWAC near the coastal waters of Korea.To validate the predicted results,we used real-time monitoring data derived from remote buoy system,HF-radar,and geostationary ocean color imager(GOCI).This down-scaled operational coastal forecasting system will be used as a part of the Korea operational oceanographic system(KOOS) with other operational oceanographic systems.     

Metagenomic approach revealed effects of forest thinning on bacterial communities in the forest soil of Mt. Janggunbong,South Korea

The soil microbiome that plays important ecological roles in mountains and forests is influenced by anthropogenic and natural causes. Human activity, particularly harvesting or thinning, affects the soil microbiome in forests by altering environmental conditions, such as vegetation, microclimate, and soil physicochemical properties. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects on forest thinning on the diversity and composition of the soil bacterial community. From next-generation sequencing results of the 16S rRNA gene, we examined differences in soil bacterial diversity and community composition before and after thinning at Mt. Janggunbong, South Korea. We identified 40 phyla, 103 classes, 192 orders, 412 families, 947 genera, and 3,145 species from the soil samples. Acidobacteria and Proteobacteria were the most dominant bacterial phyla in the forest soil of Mt. Janggunbong. Soil bacterial diversity measures (richness, Shannon diversity index, and evenness) at the phylum level increased after thinning, whereas species-level taxonomic richness decreased after thinning. Thinning provided new opportunities for bacterial species in Chloroflexi, Verrucomicrobia, Nitrospirae, and other nondominant bacterial taxa, especially for those not found in Mt. Janggunbong before thinning, to settle and adapt to the changing environment. Our results suggested that thinning affected the diversity and composition of soil bacterial communities in forests and mountains.     

Effects of Trichoderma harzianum YC_(459) and soil types on seed germination and seedling growth in rock slope restoration

We carried out experiments with various concentrations of Trichoderma harzianum YC459 in different soil types(forest soil, mixed soil,merchantable soil, and leaf mold soil) to evaluate its effect on seed germination and seedling establishment of four species(Festuca arundinacea Schreb., Dianthus barbatus var. asiaticus Nakai,Lespedeza cyrtobotrya Miq., and Parthenocissus tricuspidata Planch) for rock slope restoration. We also investigated the use of drilled slanted holes on the rock slopes for seedling establishment. The results showed that T. harzianum concentration had significant effects on seed germination, seedling growth, and seedling survival for all the species with different soil types. Seed germination and survival rates peaked at 5% T. harzianum concentration with leaf mold soil and decreased as T. harzianum concentration increased from 5% to 10%. Seedling survival rates of all four species were generally lowest at 0% T. harzianum concentration in all soil types.The height of F. arundinacea and L. cyrtobotrya peaked at 5% T. harzianum concentration whereas that of D. barbatus and P. tricuspidata peaked at 10%T. harzianum concentration. We concluded that 5% T. harzianum concentration with leaf mold soil is appropriate for seed germination and seedling survival rates of most species, thus enhancing seedling establishment. Practical application of the findings of this study will contribute in the vegetation restoration of steep rocks in mountain environments.