Simple monitoring method for precaution of landslides watching tilting and water contents on slopes surface

A low-cost and simple monitoring method for early warning of landslides is proposed. To detect abnormal deformation of a slope, this method employs a tilt sensor in place of an extensometer on the slope surface. In order to examine the relevance of measuring rotation angle on a slope surface by tilt sensor, model tests were conducted, and rotation on the slope surface was observed together with slide displacement along the surface. The rotation data responded 30 min before failure in a model test, which could be useful as a signal for early warning. However, the behavior of rotation before failure varies from case to case, and thus, criteria to issue warning should be defined more carefully. For a model slope made of uniform loose sand, measurement of slide displacement along the slope surface is sensitive to failure at the toe, while the measurement of rotation on the slope surface is useful to detect the development of progressive failure upward along the slope. Wireless sensor units with microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) tilt sensor and volumetric water content sensor were also examined on a real slope in Kobe City, and a long-term monitoring was attempted. A simple but possible way to define the criteria of judgment to issue warning can be proposed based on combination of data obtained by the tilt sensors and volumetric water content sensors.     

Experimental Evaluation of the Response of Coastal Mediterranean Planktonic and Benthic Metabolism to Warming

The Mediterranean Sea has been identified as one of the hotspots for climate change. Intense warming in the Mediterranean Sea may have strong implications for biological activity and ecosystem functioning. To elucidate the effects of warming on planktonic and benthic metabolism, we performed experiments under different increasing temperature regimes, ranging from three to six different temperatures. The lowest range of temperatures assessed was of 2.6 °C and the maximum was 7.5 °C. Our results suggest that a 6 °C warming of the Mediterranean waters may yield a mean increment in planktonic respiration rates of coastal communities of 24 %, higher than the mean increase expected for planktonic gross primary production (9 %). These results confirm earlier theories, and agree with previous experiments, of a higher increase in respiration rates than in primary production with warming, with the subsequent consequences for the carbon cycle, resulting in a negative feedback to climate warming, as ocean communities will capture less CO₂.     

Validation of Arenicola marina in field toxicity bioassays using benthic cages: biomarkers as tools for assessing sediment quality

Sediment toxicity assessments using caged organisms present advantages over using laboratory and native community studies. The use of caged Arenicola marina in sediment toxicity assessments was evaluated. Lugworms were exposed in situ to sediments from coastal and port areas in Spain for seven days, and the activities of the biotransformation enzymes ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase, dibenzylfluorescein dealkylase and glutathione S-transferase, the activities of the antioxidant enzymes glutathione reductase and glutathione peroxidase and lipid peroxidation were then analyzed as biomarkers. Biomarker results and sediment physicochemical data were integrated. Cádiz Bay (SW Spain) sediments presented metal contamination that was not linked to a biochemical response. In LPGC Port (SW Spain), Pb contamination exhibited a moderate toxic potential, while PAHs, and presumably pharmaceuticals, provoked biochemical responses that efficiently prevented lipid peroxidation. In Santander Bay (N Spain), exposure to PAHs and, presumably, pharmaceuticals induced biomarker responses, but lipid peroxidation occurred nevertheless. These results indicated that caged A. marina were effective for the assessment of sediment quality and that the selected biomarkers were sufficiently sensitive to identify chemical exposure and toxicity.     

Background velocity estimation using non-linear optimization for reflection tomography and migration misfit

We show that it is possible to estimate the background velocity for prestack depth migration in 2D laterally varying media using a non-linear optimization technique called very fast simulated annealing (VFSA). We use cubic splines in the velocity model parametrization and make use of either successive pairs of shot gathers or several constant-offset sections as input data for the inversion. A Kirchhoff summation scheme based on first-arrival traveltimes is used to migrate/model the input data during the velocity analysis. We evaluate and compare two different measures of error. The first is defined in the recorded data or (x,t) domain and is based on a reflection-tomography criterion. The second is defined in the migrated data or (x,z) domain and is based on a migration-misfit criterion. Depth relaxation is used to improve the convergence and quality of the velocity analysis while simultaneously reducing the computational cost. Further, we show that by coarse sampling in the offset domain the method is still robust. Our non-linear optimization approach to migration velocity analysis is evaluated for both synthetic and real seismic data. For the velocity-analysis method based on the reflection-tomography criterion, traveltimes do not have to be picked. Similarly, the migration-misfit criterion does not require that depth images be manually compared. Interpreter intervention is required only to restrict the search space used in the velocity-analysis problem. Extension of the proposed schemes to 3D models is straightforward but practical only for the fastest available computers.     

Magnetostratigraphy and environmental magnetism in a Pleistocene sedimentary sequence, Marcos Paz, Argentina

The deterioration of groundwater quality, particularly due to salinization, because of the overexploitation of groundwater in the Lower Central Plain of Thailand remains a major concern. With increasing demand for water there is a growing need for sustainable management of the resource, which would benefit from an improved understanding of the sources of chloride contamination. Thus, a hydrochemical and isotopic study was carried out to chemically characterize groundwater and to investigate possible sources of salinization, and in particular of chloride contamination, in the multi-layered Bangkok aquifer system. Groundwater samples were taken from four topmost aquifers (Bangkok, Phra Pradaeng, Nakhon Luang, and Nonthaburi). Additionally, short-term rainwater sampling, as well as river and seawater sampling was performed and later analyzed for ionic composition and stable water isotopes. Ionic and isotopic data indicate at least three different recharge sources for groundwater. The major recharge source is rainwater. The influence of seawater is limited to the coastal region and tidally influenced areas of the two main rivers (Chao Phraya and Tha Chin). Bromide data also suggest the influence of saline water in deeper aquifers due to trapped water. Most importantly, although the influence of seawater on groundwater is recognizable, the surrounding geology contributes a significant number of dissolved ions detected in the groundwater.