An alternative approach to the random response of bilinear hysteretic systems

An analytical representation of the bilinear hysteretic characteristic is presented. Using this representation, the response of a single-degree-of-freedom bilinear hysteretic system subjected to non-stationary random excitation is examined by equivalent linearization. An ordinary differential equation is derived for the covariance matrix of the response. Numerical examples are presented and the accuracy of the approach is demonstrated. Extension of the approach to a wider class of hysteretic systems is discussed.     

Estimation of lead sources in a Japanese cedar ecosystem using stable isotope analysis

Anthropogenic Pb affects the environment worldwide. To understand its effect on forest ecosystem, Pb isotope ratios were determined in precipitation, various components of vegetation, the forest floor, soil and parent material in a Japanese cedar (Cryptomeria japonica D. Don) forest stand. The average ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ratio in bulk precipitation was 1.14 ± 0.01 (mean ± SD), whereas that in the subsoil (20–130 cm) was 1.18 ± 0.01. Intermediate ratios ranging from 1.15 to 1.16 were observed in the vegetation, the forest floor, and the surface soil (0–10 cm). Using the ²⁰⁶Pb/²⁰⁷Pb ratios, the contribution of anthropogenic sources to Pb accumulated in the forest were estimated by the simple binary mixing model. Sixty-two percent of the Pb in the forest floor, 71% in the vegetation, and 55% in the surface soil (0–10 cm) originated from anthropogenic sources, but only 16% in the sub-surface soil (10–20 cm) was anthropogenic. These results suggest that internal Pb cycling occurs mainly between surface soil and vegetation in a Japanese cedar ecosystem, and that anthropogenic Pb strongly influences Pb cycling. Although the Japanese cedar ecosystem has a shallow forest floor, very little atmospherically derived Pb migrated downward over 10 cm in depth.     

The role of consumption and globalization in a cultural industry: The case of flamenco

The rise of cultural industries is in part facilitated by the rise of leisure and entertainment in the advanced industrialized economies. This article explores one such example, taking ‘ethnic’ art, flamenco, and examining the role of consumption in shaping flamenco, both as an art form and as an industry. The global reach of the flamenco industry is assessed by focusing on two major markets, Japan and the United States. It suggests the presence of a geographic paradox in contemporary cultural industries, which, on the one hand, points to the need to retain their place-based identity, and on the other hand, indicates the need for regional cultures to establish links to export markets for their survival. It also shows that contemporary cultural change is not a unilateral process of the global invading the local. Rather, it is a process of consumers interpreting, appropriating, and adopting a cultural commodity in their own terms.     

Displacement properties of landslide masses at the initiation of failure in quick clay deposits and the effects of meteorological and hydrological factors

This study aimed to identify displacement properties of landslide masses at the initiation of failure and factors that affect the landslides activities in areas where quick clay is found. We set up a research site in a quick clay deposit area in Norway and monitored the displacements of landslide masses and meteorological and hydrological factors for a long period of time using an automatic monitoring system. The system collected data for two landslides that occurred at the site from the start of their movement until their ultimate collapse.

The two landslides that were monitored showed definite secondary and tertiary creep stages before they collapsed. One of the landslides moved from the secondary stage to the tertiary creep stage when another landslide occurred nearby. The tertiary stage of this landslide showed reconstruction of short primary, secondary, and tertiary creep stages. These phenomena suggested that (1) the stress at the end of the landslide mass was released during the nearby landslide, and (2) a new stress distribution was formed in the landslide mass. The critical strain differed for 14 times between the two landslide masses we monitored. The difference was likely attributable to the difference in the contents of quick clay, which shows small critical stress against slope failure, as well as topological factors.

Our analyses of the effects of hydrological and meteorological factors on landslides showed that the precipitation of 3 and 10 days before six slope failures as the final stages of the landslides that had occurred in the research area was no different from the mean precipitation of periods that showed no slope failure, suggesting that precipitation had no direct effects on the collapse of the landslide masses. On the other hand, the traveling velocities of the landslide masses during the secondary creep stage, which was prior to their collapse, were affected by the water content of the soil and precipitation (and the amount of snowmelt water), but was little correlated with the pore-water pressure of the quick clay layer. We also found that the presence of snow cover scarcely affected landslide movements.     

Hydrologic and geochemical influences on the dissolved silica concentration in natural water in a steep headwater catchment

The dissolved silica concentrations in groundwater, springwater, and streamwater were measured on an unchanneled hillslope in the Tanakami Mountains of central Japan. The effects of preferential flowpaths, including lateral and vertical flow in the soil layer and flow through bedrock fractures, on the variation in the dissolved silica concentrations in runoff and groundwater were examined, as were the effects of the mixing of water from geochemically diverse water sources on the dissolved silica concentrations. The mean dissolved silica concentrations in water sampled from 40 cm below the soil surface and in transiently formed groundwater above the soil-bedrock interface during rainfall events were relatively constant, independent of the variation in the mixing ratio of pre-event water and incoming throughfall. These waters were mostly supplied by the vertical infiltration of water in soil. The mean dissolved silica concentrations were similar, regardless of sampling depth, although the mean residence time of the water increased with depth. These results indicated that the dissolved silica concentrations in soil water and transient groundwater were independent of contact time between the water and minerals. The mean dissolved silica concentration in perennially saturated groundwater above the soil-bedrock interface, which was recharged by water infiltrating through soil, and water emerging from bedrock in an area near the spring was more than twice that of transient groundwater, and the variation was relatively large. The mean dissolved silica concentration increased significantly downslope, from perennial groundwater to spring from soil matrix to stream, and the spring and stream concentrations also showed large variations. The dissolved silica concentration was highest in the spring from a bedrock fracture and was relatively constant. The mixing of water from two geochemically diverse water sources, soil and bedrock, controlled the dissolved silica concentrations of the perennial groundwater, the spring from soil matrix, and the stream. Our results demonstrated that in most areas of this headwater catchment, the preferential flowpaths have only a small effect on the dissolved silica concentrations. In a small area, which was < 2% of the total catchment area near the spring, the dissolved silica concentration was controlled by the mixing of water from geochemically diverse water sources.     

Depositional features and transportation mechanism of valley-filling Iwasegawa and Kaida debris avalanches, Japan

 The depositional features of two valley-filling debris avalanche deposits were studied to reveal their transportation and depositional mechanisms. The valley-filling Iwasegawa debris avalanche deposit (ca. 0.1 km³) is distributed along the valleys at the southeastern foot of Tashirodake Volcano, northern Honshu, Japan. Debris-avalanche blocks range in size from <35 m proximally to <10 m in the distal zone and consist dominantly of fragile materials. Debris-avalanche matrix percentages increase from 35–60% in the proximal zone to 95% in the distal zone. The debris-avalanche matrix is greater in volume (80–90%) at the bottom and margins of the deposit. Normal grading of large clasts and reverse grading of wood logs and branches occur within the debris-avalanche matrix. Preferred orientation of 311 wood logs and branches within the deposit coincide with the interpreted local flow direction. The basal part of the deposit is characterized by (1) erosional features and incorporated clasts of underlying material; (2) a higher proportion (30–50%) of incorporated clasts than the upper part; and (3) reverse grading of clasts. The valley-filling Kaida debris avalanche deposit (50 000 y B.P., >0.3 km³) is distributed along the valleys at the eastern-southeastern foot of Ontake Volcano, central Japan. Debris-avalanche blocks range in size from <25 m proximally to <7 m in the medial zone. Debris-avalanche matrix percentages increase from 50–70% in the proximal zone to 80% in the distal zone. The debris-avalanche matrix is more abundant (80–90%) at the bottom part of the deposit. Deformation structures observed in the debris-avalanche blocks include elongation, folding, conjugate reverse faults, and numerous minor faults in unconsolidated materials. Lithic components within the debris-avalanche matrix tend to have a higher percentage of plucked clasts from the adjacent underlying formations. A Bingham "plug flow" model is consistent with the transportation and depositional mechanisms of the valley-filling debris avalanches. In the plug of the debris avalanche, fragile blocks were transported without major rupturing due to relatively small shear stresses in regions of small strain rate. The debris-avalanche matrix was mainly produced by shearing at the bottom and margins of the avalanche. Valley-filling debris avalanches tend to have smaller debris-avalanche blocks and larger amounts of debris-avalanche matrix than do unconfined debris avalanches. These differences may be due to disaggregation of debris-avalanche blocks by shearing against valley walls and interaction between debris-avalanche blocks and valley walls. Oriented wood logs and branches, reverse grading of clasts at the base, and a higher proportion of incorporated clasts at the base are interpreted to result from shearing along the bottom and valley walls. Received: 25 March 1998 / Accepted: 10 October 1998     

Organohalogen contaminants in striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) from Japan: Present contamination status, body distribution and temporal trends (1978-2003)

Organohalogen contaminants including PCBs, DDTs, CHLs, HCHs, HCB, PBDEs and HBCDs were determined in striped dolphins (Stenella coeruleoalba) found stranded at Gogo-shima (n = 6, 2003) and collected from Taiji (n = 15, 1978-1992) in Japan. All target compounds were significantly detected in all the specimens, indicating ubiquitous contamination of oceanic cetaceans in northwest Pacific Ocean. Examination of body distribution of organohalogens in the six specimens from Gogo-shima showed no significant difference in concentrations among the analyzed tissues, except for brain, which had lower levels possibly due to the existence of blood-brain barrier. For evaluating temporal trends, archived blubber samples of adult male stripped dolphins collected in 1978, 1979, 1986 and 1992 were analyzed. Concentrations of PCBs, DDTs and HCHs did not change significantly during 1978-2003. In contrast, remarkable increasing trends of PBDEs and HBCDs were observed, suggesting growing consumption in Japan and surrounding countries in recent years.     

Effect of seismic retrofit of bridges on transportation networks

The objective of this research is to determine the effect earthquakes have on the performance of transportation network systems. To do this, bridge fragility curves, expressed as a function of peak ground acceleration (PGA) and peak ground velocity (PGV), were developed. Network damage was evaluated under the 1994 Northridge earthquake and scenario earthquakes. A probabilistic model was developed to determine the effect of repair of bridge damage on the improvement of the network performance as days passed after the event. As an example, the system performance degradation measured in terms of an index, “Drivers Delay,“ is calculated for the Los Angeles area transportation system, and losses due to Drivers Delay with and without retrofit were estimated.     

Development of a global flood risk index based on natural and socio-economic factors

Abstract

A global flood risk index (FRI) is established, based on both natural and social factors. The advanced flood risk index (AFRI) is the expectation of damage in the case of a single flood occurrence, estimated by a linear regression-based approach as a function of hazard and vulnerability metrics. The resulting equations are used to predict potential flood damage given gridded global data for independent variables. It is new in the aspect that it targets floods by units of events, instead of a long-term trend. Moreover, the value of the AFRI is that it can express relative potential flood risk with the process of flood damage occurrence considered. The significance of this study is that not only the hazard parameters which contribute directly to flood occurrence, but vulnerability parameters which reflect the conditions of the region where flood occurred, including its residential and social characteristics, were shown quantitatively to affect flood damage.

Citation Okazawa, Y., Yeh, P., Kanae, S. & Oki, T. (2011) Development of a global flood risk index based on natural and socioeconomic factors. Hydrol. Sci. J. 56(5), 789–804.